ST. PETERSBURG, July 27. /TASS/. Competition for the African weapons market is intensifying, Dmitry Shugayev, the head of the Russian Federal Service for Military and Technical Cooperation, said in an interview.

"The struggle for the African weapons market tends to intensify. The African continent is now one of the most rapidly developing regions. We note the increasing importance and authority of African countries on the international stage," he told TASS on the sidelines of the Russia-Africa summit.

The official said leaders of sub-Saharan African countries, which have a significant amount of natural resources, pay special attention to increasing the defense capabilities of their armed forces as various terrorist groups step up their activity.

"High tactical and technical specifications of Russian military products, which have proven themselves well when used in rough climatic conditions, allow our country to hold one of the leading positions in the arms markets of the African continent," Shugayev said.

He said Russia had signed agreements on military-technical cooperation with 43 African nations.

According to the official, there is currently a significant demand for Russian weaponry on the African continent.

"Conditions for this were created back in Soviet times. Using this well-established foundation and long-standing friendly ties with African countries, we still manage to show positive results in the field of bilateral military-technical cooperation with the countries of the region," he said.

The second Russia-Africa summit is scheduled to take place at St. Petersburg’s Expoforum convention center from July 27-28. An economic and humanitarian forum is scheduled to run in parallel to the event. Like the previous summit, the upcoming one will be held under the motto For Peace, Security and Development. The Roscongress Foundation is the summit’s organizer while TASS is the summit’s photo hosting agency and media partner. TASS is also holding the second Russia-Africa Media Forum.