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Russia-Africa Summit

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President of Burkina Faso first leader to arrive in Russia to attend Russia-Africa summit

The plane with the delegation landed at St. Petersburg’s Pulkovo airport

ST. PETERSBURG, July 25. /TASS/. President of Burkina Faso Ibrahim Traore is the first African leader to arrive in St. Petersburg to take part in the second Russia-Africa summit and economic forum, a TASS correspondent reported on Tuesday.

The plane with the delegation from Burkina Faso landed at St. Petersburg’s Pulkovo airport.

Burkina Faso has been facing serious security problems in recent years, with Islamist groups being active in the country. The authorities believe that partnership with Russia will help with these threats and will become a key factor of stabilization. President of the country’s Transitional Legislative Assembly Usman Buguma said in March that his country had opted for cooperation with Moscow being convinced in its sincerity and principled positions.

In early January, Burkina Faso terminated a defense agreement with Paris envisaging the deployment of a French special taskforce of up to 400 troops in the country. The French military, which had had a presence in Burkina Faso since 2009, left the country on February 19 and on March 1, Burkina Faso’s government denounced its 60-year-old military agreement with France.

The second Russia-Africa summit as well as an economic forum organized by the Roscongress Foundation are scheduled to be held in St. Petersburg from July 27 through 28. The first such summit was held in Sochi from October 22-24, 2019 under the motto "For Peace, Security, and Development." TASS is the event’s official photo hosting agency and the information partner.

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Russia-Africa Summit

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