MOSCOW, October 29. /TASS/. Africa can be an equal partner in a multipolar world, Burundi’s President and African Union Chairperson Evariste Ndayishimiye told TASS in an interview on the sidelines of the Russia-Africa Economic and Humanitarian Forum.

He answered in the affirmative when asked whether the African continent was ready to establish itself as an independent center of power in a multipolar world. "I affirm this because we know how other countries have developed," Ndayishimiye noted.

In his view, "Africa must not become an arena for rivalry between great powers." "It wants to be a partner that independently sets its priorities and negotiates on an equal footing, because it has something to offer a multipolar world," the African Union chairperson emphasized.