MOSCOW, April 3. /TASS/. The volume of mutual trade between Russia and countries of the Alliance of Sahel States surged more than tenfold over the year, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said at the press conference after talks with Foreign Ministers of Mali, Niger and Burkina Fasol, the Alliance members.
"Our mutual trade volume soar by more than times over the year. However, absolute figures are rather modest and do not correspond to opportunities in place, as we discussed in detail today," he said.
"We consider creation of the confederation [the Alliance - TASS] as the manifestation of the decision of three Sahel countries to build up the new architecture of regional security," Lavrov added.
Russia is regularly supplying agricultural commodities, fertilizers, energy goods and other critical items to countries of the Alliance because "it is alive to significance of such supplies for socioeconomic development of African nations," the top Russian diplomat said.
"We agreed for purposes of strengthening the material foundation of our cooperation to take further specific steps, they are already being elaborated, to implement joint promising economic projects either down the line of bilateral relations of Russia with each of three countries and in the context of the quadripartite format, considering the evolution of interesting and efficient integration mechanisms within the framework of the confederation," Lavrov added.