MOSCOW, July 27. /TASS/. Modernization of military equipment is a promising area for Russia's military-technical cooperation with African countries, Alexander Mikheyev, CEO of Russian state arms export agency Rosoboronexport, told TASS.

"An important area for increasing the volume of military-technical cooperation with African countries is equipment modernization. Today, this segment of the market is attracting increased interest from African partners. It enables enhancing [a country’s] military potential at moderate cost," Mikheyev said.

According to the defense executive, Rosoboronexport offers the countries of the African continent mutually beneficial projects for the construction of service technical centers designed to carry out repairs and modernization of imported military equipment.

"[Our] African partners are interested in our proposals for production partnership, including the creation of lines for the licensed production of small arms," Mikheyev added.

The second Russia-Africa Summit is taking place at St. Petersburg’s Expoforum on July 27-28, in parallel with economic and humanitarian forums. Similar to the first such summit in 2019, the event is being held under the rubric "For Peace, Security and Development." The event is being organized by the Roscongress Foundation. TASS is the event’s official information partner and photo hosting agency.