ST. PETERSBURG, July 27. /TASS/. Russian President Vladimir Putin is holding a meeting with his Zimbabwean counterpart Emmerson Mnangagwa.

Earlier, on the sidelines of the two-day Russia-Africa Summit that began on Thursday, the Russian head of state spoke with President of the African Union and President of the Comoros Azali Assoumani and African Union Commission Chairman Moussa Faki Mahamat, and also addressed the plenary session of the Russia-Africa Economic and Humanitarian Forum.

In addition, Putin held talks with his Mozambiquan counterpart Filipe Nyusi and the leader of Burundi Evariste Ndayishimiye, and discussed prospects for further cooperation between Russia and the African Union at a working breakfast with the heads of regional organizations in Africa.

After his meeting with Mnangagwa, the Russian president is expected to meet with his Ugandan counterpart Yoweri Museveni and the head of Eritrea Isaias Afwerki.

In the evening, a ceremony of the official meeting of the heads of state and heads of delegations of the summit and a gala reception will be held.

As Kremlin aide Yury Ushakov earlier reported, 17 heads of state from the African continent are expected to attend the Russia-Africa Summit, and the Russian leader plans to meet with each of them.

Russia-Africa Summit

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.