MOSCOW, October 21. /TASS/. Russian President Vladimir Putin said in an interview with TASS that he expected representatives of the African business community to come to the Sochi summit with a solid package of proposals on expanding Russia’s cooperation with the continent’s countries.
"We expect that our African colleagues, representatives of the business community will come to Sochi with a solid package of proposals aimed at enhancing bilateral relations, while heads of Africa's regional organizations will share their ideas as to how we could jointly develop our multilateral cooperation," the Russian leader said in the run-up to the Russia-Africa summit in Sochi on October 24.
"We will consider these initiatives with great interest and decide what could be launched right away and what will require further elaboration," Putin added.
Russia also has its own vision of how to further develop its ties with the African continent, the Russian leader said. "We intend to discuss relevant ideas with our partners, systematize and reflect them as concretely as possible in the final declaration."
Besides, "it is important to identify mechanisms for implementing agreements that would be reached at the top-level meeting in Sochi," the Russian leader said.
"I am sure that the Summit will be a success since all the necessary prerequisites are there," Putin stressed.