Strengthening friendly relations with African countries is one of Moscow's priorities, Russian President Vladimir Putin highlighted in a congratulatory message on the occasion of "Africa Day".

Moscow.- According to the Kremlin's official website, the Russian leader expressed his confidence that the second Russia-Africa Summit, to be held in July in Saint Petersburg, will allow the expansion of cooperation between the Russian Federation and African states in the political, commercial, scientific and technical fields.

He also recalled that this year marks the 60th anniversary of the Organization for African Unity, now the African Union, which has played an important role in the development of multilateral dialogue and cooperation for several decades.

“Thanks to its efforts, African countries managed to establish collective response mechanisms to local crises and launch regional integration processes in various formats,” the President stated.

Putin emphasized that Russia has always attached special importance to strengthening friendly relations with African partners and reminded that the first Russia-Africa Summit, held in 2019, served to boost ties in many directions. (PL)