ST. PETERSBURG, July 27. /TASS/. Growing trade between Russia and Africa will necessitate the use of national currencies, rubles, and the connection of African banks to the Financial Messaging System of the Bank of Russia (SPFS), Russian Minister of Economic Development Maxim Reshetnikov said in an interview with Rossiya 24 TV channel.

"Increased trade turnover will necessitate additional efforts in other areas. The transition of settlements to national currencies is on the agenda, as is connecting African banks to the financial messaging system, switching to settlements in rubles, because Africa is still used to working in dollars, euros, and so on," he said.

Reshetnikov added that negotiations on a free trade zone with a number of African countries are now in progress. Negotiations with Egypt, as well as accords with Morocco and Algeria, are already underway, he noted.

The second Russia-Africa Summit is taking place at St. Petersburg’s Expoforum on July 27-28, in parallel with economic and humanitarian forums. Similar to the first such summit in 2019, the event is being held under the rubric "For Peace, Security and Development." The event is being organized by the Roscongress Foundation. TASS is the event’s official information partner and photo-hosting agency.