ST. PETERSBURG, July 27. /TASS/. The International North-South Transport Corridor will make it possible to efficiently deliver Russian goods to Africa and African products to the domestic market, Russian President Vladimir Putin told a plenary meeting of the Russia-Africa Economic and Humanitarian Forum.
"Russia <...> is actively engaged in reorienting transport and logistical flows towards the states of the global South, including, of course, Africa. The International North-South Transport Corridor that we are developing is aimed at providing Russian goods with access to the Persian Gulf and the Indian Ocean, from where they will be able to reach the African continent via the shortest sea route. Naturally, this corridor can also be used in the opposite direction - to supply African goods to the Russian market," he said.
According to Putin, Russia seeks to ensure interconnectivity within the corridor and launch regular freight shipping lines. "The opening of a Russian transport and logistics center in one of the ports on the African coast would be a good thing, a good start to this joint work. We consider it t important to ensure wider coverage of the African continent with direct flights. Participation in the development of the African railroad network - these are the key tasks that we propose to our African friends to work together on," he said.
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. Similar to 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.