HARARE, August 9. /TASS/. Russia and Malawi have been actively increasing interaction following the 2019 Russia-Africa summit, Russian Ambassador to Zimbabwe and Malawi Nikolay Krasilnikov said in an exclusive interview with TASS.

"Lately, interaction in various spheres between Russia and Malawi, which established diplomatic relations only in 1993, has notably been on the rise," the envoy said. "Good prospects have opened up since the Malawian president’s first-ever visit to Russia in 2019 for the Russia-Africa summit. Thanks to this partnership format, Lilongwe began cooperating with our country. Last year, the Malawians attended the Russia-Africa parliamentary conference and for the first time ever the interior security minister attended a meeting of high representatives in charge of security. This year, a Malawian delegation visited such an event again," he explained.

"Russian President Vladimir Putin’s initiative on providing aid to African countries to ensure food security gave a potent impetus to our partnership with Malawi," the diplomat stressed. "Last March, the Uralchem-Uralkali group of companies handed over 20,000 tons of Russian fertilizers to the Malawians. Lilongwe was profoundly grateful for this move, seeing it as a confirmation of Russia’s readiness to foster cooperation not only on developing Malawi’s agriculture but on other tracks as well," he added.

"During interaction with the Russian Embassy, Malawian Foreign Minister Nancy Tembo and other high-ranking officials express readiness to discuss a wide range of global and regional issues," Krasilnikov pointed out. The ambassador stressed that this year he was invited to visit Malawi’s main trade and industrial exhibition for the first time ever. "There, I met with President Lazarus Chakwera. The head of state changed his working schedule in order to meet with the Russian envoy not just ‘on the sidelines’ but in his residence, thus stressing the attention he personally and his administration give to interaction with our country," the envoy concluded.