MOSCOW, November 17. /TASS/. TASS is seeking to expand its presence in Africa as it plans to open bureaus in Nigeria, Cameroon, Angola and Madagascar soon, director general of Russia’s state-owned news agency, Andrey Kondrashov, announced.

According to him, the agency’s "strategic development strategy" envisages a broader African presence, among other areas.

"In the near future alone, we are planning to open news bureaus in Nigeria, Cameroon and Madagascar," he said at a news conference devoted to an international press tour for reporters with African news agencies titled, TASS-Africa: The Way of Friendship, that began on Sunday.

The TASS chief recalled that the agency currently has offices in Egypt, Tunisia, Kenya, Morocco, Zimbabwe and South Africa.

The international press tour is running in Moscow, Kazan and St. Petersburg from November 16 - November 24. Employees with media outlets from 10 Francophone African countries accompanied by a team of TASS staff will see key sites, museums and universities in the three Russian cities and communicate with university and media representatives.