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Russia ready to help stabilize the situation in the Central African Republic, says Lavrov

President of the Central African Republic Faustin-Archange Touadera and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov had a phone call earlier in the day

MOSCOW, March 29/TASS/. In a phone call with President of the Central African Republic Faustin-Archange Touadera, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Russia was ready to continue assisting it efforts to stabilize the situation in the country, including in its role of a permanent member of the UN Security Council, the Foreign Ministry reported on Monday.

The Russian side "expressed readiness to further assist the efforts of the Central African leadership to stabilize the situation in the country, both on a bilateral basis and as a permanent member of the UN Security Council, to develop military-technical cooperation, to continue to strengthen foreign policy coordination on key international and African issues," the ministry said.

According to the Foreign Ministry, the sides exchanged opinions on the development of bilateral ties, as well as confirmed their common bid to continue deepening the political dialogue, productive cooperation along the trade-economic, investment and humanitarian tracks.

They "emphasized potentials for giving a boost to mutually advantageous partnership through the implementation of lucrative joint projects in the sphere of developing mineral resources, in the energy sector and agricultural production, as well as through the encouragement of direct contacts between the business circles, including through associations of entrepreneurs and the Association of Economic Cooperation with African Countries," the ministry went on to say.

Lavrov also congratulated the president of the Central African Republic on his re-election and upcoming inauguration, wishing him "further success in fulfilling the challenging tasks entrusted to him on the track of national development and strengthening of security," the Foreign Ministry added.

The phone call was initiated by the Russian side ahead of the inauguration ceremony on March 30.

On January 4, chief of the CAR’s National Election Commission Mathias Barthelemy Morouba said that incumbent President Faustin-Archange Touadera had emerged the winner in the first round of the presidential election held on December 27, having garnered 53.9% of the vote. On January 18, the Constitutional Court confirmed Touadera’s reelection for a second term.