MOSCOW, December 18. /TASS/. Nineteen intergovernmental commissions on cooperation between Russia and African nations are functioning at present and the parties are working to increase their number, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said in his article for the African mas media, dedicated to the Second Ministerial Conference of the Russia-Africa Partnership Forum

"Intergovernmental commissions on trade and economic, as well as scientific and technical cooperation with African countries play an important role in strengthening ties between business circles. 19 such commissions are already operational. We are working to increase their number," the minister noted.

Establishment of the African Continental Free Trade Area, a future common market with a total GDP exceeding $3 trillion, opens further opportunities for the interaction, Lavrov stressed.

"We attach great importance to trade, economic, as well as investment cooperation," the top Russian diplomat said. "We appreciate that the trade turnover with Africa is growing steadily: compared to 2019, it increased by more than one and a half times, exceeding $27 billion last year. We are convinced that this is not the limit," he noted.

Growth of trade with the States of sub-Saharan Africa, expansion of supply of African products to the Russian market, and introduction of reliable mutual payment mechanisms based on national currencies are on the agenda, Lavrov added.