BAMAKO /Mali/, February 7. /TASS/. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov embarked on his first working visit to Mali on Tuesday. Russia’s diplomacy chief met with his Malian counterpart Abdoulaye Diop and interim President Assimi Goita in the country's capital, Bamako. They discussed the two countries' economic relations and the need for development, security, and fighting terrorism, as well as joining the Russia-Africa summit. TASS has put together the meeting’s highlights.
Mutually beneficial cooperation
Russian-Malian trade turnover grew by 20% over the year, although the absolute figures, according to both sides, are "not very impressive" yet. "Our efforts are showing promise in the development of mineral deposits, geological exploration, energy, transportation and other infrastructure, as well as agriculture," Lavrov pointed out.
Mali wants to expand commercial ties with Russia, Diop said, promising to establish a "special framework" for this. Moscow took crucial steps to ensure that Bamako had grain, energy, and fertilizers, according to the minister, who also mentioned Russia’s interest in numerous Malian goods.
In turn, Russia hopes for rapid deliveries of wheat, fertilizers, and oil products to Mali, Lavrov said. He recalled that Moscow regularly provides humanitarian assistance to Bamako, including through the UN World Food Programme.
In addition, in 2023 Russia will boost the number of scholarships for students from Mali eightfold: from 35 to 290.
Equal partnership
Mali does not need to explain itself to anyone for choosing Russia as a partner for cooperation, Diop said. "We’ve decided to bolster our partnership together with Russia and thus showed that we will not make excuses for the choice of partners that we’ve made," he said. The Malian top diplomat noted that this decision was made by the Malians to the fullest extent. He stressed that Mali is acting taking into account, among other things, "the interests of the Malians themselves in all the decisions being made."
Bamako’s cooperation with France "did not fulfill the aspirations of the Malian people," according to Mali’s foreign minister, and was thus halted.
Ensuring security
Mali's greatest challenge, according to both countries, is resolving security and tackling terrorism. Russia intends to assist the African country in maintaining stability and holding elections.
Moscow and Bamako are planning "additional steps in the field of education through military higher educational institutions and in the supply of weapons and military equipment," Lavrov said.
He pointed to the readiness and effectiveness of the Malian Armed Forces, especially the air force. A second batch of aircraft to fight terrorists was transferred to Bamako on January 19.
Future visit to Russia
Mali's foreign minister stated that the country's president has expressed his desire to attend the Russia-Africa summit. Lavrov invited his colleague to visit Russia as well.
According to the Malian Foreign Minister, Assimi Goita and Vladimir Putin are in regular contact.