ST. PETERSBURG, July 27. /TASS/. Despite sanctions, Russia continues to boost defense cooperation with African nations, and has now in fact reached Soviet-era levels of activity in the region’s market for weaponry, Alexander Mikheyev, director general of Russian state arms export agency Rosoboronexport, told TASS.

"The scope of interaction with African countries has significantly grown since 2000, when a single vertical system was once again formed in Russia in terms of defense cooperation. Today, Rosoboronexport has partnerships with as many as 43 countries, which is comparable with the level of the Soviet Union’s presence on the continent," he pointed out.

According to Mikheyev, Russian helicopters, missile and artillery weapons, armored equipment, firearms, close combat systems, automotive vehicles (including armored ones), submarines, tanks, air defense systems and aircraft have been in demand in the African market for years. In addition, Russia also upgrades previously provided equipment.

The second Russia-Africa Summit, along with an economic and humanitarian forum, is taking place in the Russian city of St. Petersburg on July 27-28. Just like the first such event, the summit is being held under the rubric "For Peace, Security and Development." The event is being organized by the Roscongress Foundation. TASS, which is the information partner and photo hosting agency of the summit and forum, is also hosting the second Russia-Africa media forum.