CAIRO, December 20. /TASS/. The joint statement of the second ministerial conference of the Russia-Africa Forum in Cairo was approved by all the participants unanimously, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said.

"All areas of joint practical work are reflected in detail in the joint statement which was adopted unanimously and which will serve as a guideline for our further work," he said after the meeting.

According to the top Russian diplomat, the statement lays bare the countries’ principled approaches to the key issues of international development. "In particular, I would like to pay special attention to the clear statement that all countries must honor all the principles of the UN Charter," he said, adding that the statement also highlights the tasks of strengthening economic independence of African countries, "defending their rights to independent economic development, independent choice of partners," and independent foreign policies.

"Our joint statement reflects a clear support for the recent UN General Assembly resolution on declaring December 14 as International Day Against Colonialism in All Its Forms and Manifestations," Lavrov noted. "This day will be marked annually and this will stimulate us to consolidate efforts within the United Nations to exterminate present-day forms of colonialism and neo-colonial practices."

The second Russia-Africa Partner Forum ministerial conference was held in Cairo on December 19 and 20.