MOSCOW, October 21. /TASS/. Russian President Vladimir Putin will hold several bilateral meetings with leaders of African states on October 24 in Sochi on the sidelines of the Russia-Africa summit, Kremlin Aide Yuri Ushakov told reporters on Monday.

According to him, on October 24, Putin is set to meet with Angolan President Joao Lourenco. "One of the main topics of the talks will be trade-economic cooperation. The bilateral trade turnover [between Russia and Angola] has increased by 42% in the past seven months, reaching $34.8 mln," Ushakov said.

An important area of cooperation between both states is the mining sphere, namely, the development of diamond deposits. Russian company Alrosa is a co-founder of Angola’s leading diamond-mining company Catoca. Ushakov pointed out that both states are currently developing a program of cooperation in the sphere of geology and mining until 2025.

High-level meetings

The Kremlin aide informed that the Russian leader is also set to meet with Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta to discuss the development of trade-economic relations and the potential increase in trade turnover between both states. The states are working on the establishment of a bilateral intergovernmental commission on economic and science-technical cooperation.

Putin also plans to meet with Rwandan President Paul Kagame on October 24, the Kremlin aide stated. "A steady dynamic of cooperation in the sphere of peaceful use of nuclear energy has been noted. On the sidelines of the Russia-Africa summit in Sochi, the sides plan to sign an intergovernmental agreement on building a Center of Nuclear Science and Technology in Rwanda," the aide said. According to him, the sides plan to develop cooperation in the sphere of information and communications technology. Both states also have joint plans for projects in the sphere of geological exploration and mining.

On October 24, Putin is also set to meet with President of Guinea Alpha Conde. In January-July of this year, the trade turnover between Russia and the Republic of Guinea has increased 2.5 times, reaching $79 mln. The prospective areas of cooperation are: mining, geological exploration, energy, infrastructure, transport, fishing, agriculture. Ushakov noted that several major Russian companies are active in Guinea, namely, the Rusal company, which is leading the development of bauxite mines in Guinea with the total sum of investments into the project surpassing $300 mln. According to Ushakov, Russia’s Severstal company is involved in gold mining in Guinea.

He noted that healthcare is one of the key spheres of cooperation between Russia and Guinea. In 2017, a joint Russian-Guinean Research Center of Epidemiology and Prevention of Infectious Diseases was established. The Russian Ministry of Health carried out research of a Russian vaccine against Ebola in Guinea. "Additional measures are developed with the aim to strengthen the potential of Guinean healthcare," the Kremlin official noted.

Ushakov also informed that on October 24, Putin plans to meet with Algerian leader Abdelkader Bensalah to discuss bilateral cooperation.

Russia-Africa summit

On October 23-24, the resort city of Sochi will host the Russia-Africa Summit, co-chaired by Russian President Vladimir Putin and Egypt’s head of state Abdel Fattah al-Sisi. The leaders of all 54 African countries have been invited to come, and over 40 of them have already confirmed their participation. Eight major African integration associations and organizations are also involved in the event. On the summit’s sidelines, an economic forum will take place, which will be attended by the continent’s heads of state, and representatives of the business community and government agencies. The Roscongress Foundation is the organizer of the event, and TASS is the official photo host agency of the summit and economic forum.