MOSCOW, December 17. /TASS/. Moscow can help Africa gain true economic sovereignty, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Vershinin said.

"African nations achieved their historical goal of political independence with Soviet support in the 1960s, and now, they are facing an objective that is no less, if not even more, important. It is about ensuring true and comprehensive economic, energy and technology sovereignty for African countries," he pointed out in an interview with TASS.

"We can see that the Africans are showing a special interest in unique Russian knowledge and experience in various manufacturing sectors, which we have gathered in the past several years in terms of sovereign development based on internal resources," Vershinin added.

He noted that the African "continent undoubtedly has enough capacity" to achieve economic sovereignty. "It includes enormous human resources, positive demographic trends, vast markets, a significant base of raw materials, and an increasingly prominent role in global production and supply chains," the senior Russian diplomat specified.