ST. PETERSBURG, July 26. /TASS/. Mali’s Interim President Assimi Goita has arrived in St. Petersburg with a large delegation to participate in the Russia-Africa summit, according to a TASS reporter.

A representative of the country’s embassy told TASS that Mali’s delegation at the forum numbers about 80 people. The embassy expressed hope that the summit will strengthen bilateral relations between Russia and Mali, "not only in the field of defense, but also in the economic field." Several cooperation agreements are expected to be signed during the event. The embassy said that Russia is Mali’s "most important strategic partner."

The delegation also includes representatives from the private sector of the economy, which emphasizes Mali's desire to expand economic cooperation with Russia and attract Russian investments.

The second Russia-Africa summit is scheduled to take place at St. Petersburg’s Expoforum convention center from July 27-28. An economic and humanitarian forum is scheduled to run in parallel to the event. Like the previous summit, the upcoming one will be held under the motto For Peace, Security and Development. The Roscongress Foundation is the summit’s organizer while TASS is the summit’s photo hosting agency and media partner.