ST. PETERSBURG, July 28. /TASS/. Russian President Vladimir Putin has announced the launch of a program of assistance to African countries in their fight against infectious diseases until 2026.

"We plan to help our African partners strengthen their national public health systems, boost their reliability, technological sophistication, efficiency and sustainability against epidemics. For these ends, we are launching a large-scale program of assistance to African countries in combating infections until 2026 worth 1.2 billion rubles (13.034 million US dollars)," he told journalists after the Russia-Africa summit.

Putin thanked African partners for accepting Russia’s invitation and for coming to St. Petersburg.

"I would like to stress once again: Russia sincerely wants to build true strategic, comprehensive relations and partnership with Africa. And we see the same willingness to act together, side-by-side, from our African friends," he added.