ST. PETERSBURG, July 26. /TASS/. The Nigerian delegation headed by Vice President Kashim Shettima has arrived in St. Petersburg for the Russia-Africa Summit, TASS reports.

The plane carrying the delegation touched down at Pulkovo Airport. Nigeria is currently experiencing food difficulties, due to which a state of emergency has been in place in the republic since July 13. According to the UN, about 25 million people, or almost 10% of the country's population, are currently at risk of food insecurity. With this in view, Moscow is providing assistance to the Nigerian side. As Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said earlier, Russia intends to send 34,000 tons of fertilizers to Nigeria free of charge.

In March, commenting on the results of the Nigerian presidential election, the Russian Foreign Ministry pointed to Moscow's readiness to further strengthen the relations of traditional friendship and cooperation between the two countries. Russia’s decision to open a trade mission in the Nigerian capital of Abuja in 2023 confirms this. An order to this effect has been signed by Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin.

The second Russia-Africa Summit will take place in St. Petersburg’s Expoforum on July 27-28, in parallel with economic and humanitarian forums. The first summit was held in October 2019 in Sochi under the slogan "For Peace, Security and Development." The event is organized by the Roscongress Foundation. TASS is the event’s information partner and photo hosting agency.