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Russian deputy defense minister meets with African top brass

The sides have discussed fight "against international terrorist units, whose growing activity is seen in the Sahara Sahel region, in particular"

MOSCOW, October 24. /TASS/. Russian Deputy Defense Minister Alexander Fomin held talks on Thursday with the defense ministers of Burkina Faso, Mali and Somalia - Moumina Cherif Sy, Ibrahim Dahirou Dembele and Hassan Ali Mohamed, the Russian Defense Ministry reported on Thursday.

In particular, Colonel-General Fomin and the Burkina Faso minister of defense and veteran affairs discussed fight "against international terrorist units, whose growing activity is seen in the Sahara Sahel region, in particular," the press release said.

The sides also discussed possibilities for training military specialists from Burkina Faso. This issue was also touched upon when Fomin met with the defense minister of Mali, with whom they discussed, in particular, the possibility of sending Russian specialists to Mali.

The top military officials from Russia and Somalia discussed possible trajectories for "Russian-Somalian cooperation in the defense sector given the existing restrictions".

Fomin also met on the sidelines of the Russia-Africa Summit with Guinean Minister of National Defense and Presidential Affairs Mohamed Diane. "Fomin and Diane discussed in depth the issues of military education, military medicine and the participation of Guinean representatives in international events held under the auspices of the Russian Defense Ministry. They also agreed that bilateral cooperation must get a boost," the report said.

Russia-Africa Summit in Sochi

On October 23-24, the resort city of Sochi has hosted the Russia-Africa Summit, co-chaired by Russian President Vladimir Putin and Egypt’s head of state Abdel Fattah al-Sisi. All 54 African countries took part in the event, with over 40 of them represented by heads of state. Eight major African integration associations and organizations were also involved in the event. An economic forum took place on the summit’s sidelines, attended by the continent’s heads of state, as well as representatives of the business community and government agencies. The Roscongress Foundation is the organizer of the event, and TASS is the official photo host agency of the summit and economic forum.