Putin invites African airlines to launch flights to Russia

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday invited African airlines to launch flights to Russia.

Speaking at the plenary session of the Russia-Africa Economic and Humanitarian Forum in Moscow, Putin said Russia was ready to expand cooperation with African countries across trade, energy, pharmaceuticals and transport.

“We also offer our African partners comprehensive solutions for building reliable logistics routes that will have a direct impact on the growth of trade and investment,” he said. “Naturally, we invite African airlines to begin flights to the Russian Federation.”

In addition, Russia could provide services in design, construction and modernization of railways and roads, sea lines, transport hubs, and equipping them with digital management, tracking and customs declaration systems, he said.

He said trade between Russia and Africa could exceed $50 billion in the near future, while Russia was involved in more than 30 prospective energy projects across 16 African countries.

“Russian-African trade turnover exceeded $27 billion last year. In 2022, by the way, it was only 18. That’s significant growth. True, of course, even that is not enough. I am convinced that we are capable of increasing this figure at least twofold in the very near future and definitely surpassing the 50 billion mark,” he noted.

Russia also plans to localize the production of medicines and vaccines in Africa and establish laboratories and diagnostic centers, he said.

The Russian president described the growing influence of African countries on the international stage as part of a broader shift toward a more equitable multipolar world, in which the voices of the majority are increasingly heard.

Putin said Russia and African nations had jointly helped lay the foundations for a fairer international order.

The Russian leader recalled Moscow’s historical support for African liberation movements, economic development and the formation of national armed forces.

The Russian president criticized Western efforts to push African countries into a “debt trap,” describing tariff wars and sanctions as “tools of neocolonialism.”

He also called for changes to the functioning of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank, saying their work should be reoriented toward the needs of developing economies.

ANEWS wp:paragraph