03:16Russia: Speaker of South Africa's National Assembly of Parliament calls on Moscow to 'prioritise Africa'
Speaker of South Africa's National Assembly of Parliament Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nkakula stressed the importance of prioritising the African continent by Moscow during a meeting with Speaker of the Russian State Duma Vyacheslav Volodin in Moscow on Friday.
"Quite a number of countries also tend to look to the African continent for purposes of extracting our resources. But for Russia, we believe, given historical relations which we have with you, we believe that a number of countries will attend this summit because they know that there is a genuine interest of the African people," said Mapisa-Nkakula.
The politician also assured colleagues of South Africa's cooperation during a 'very difficult time for Russia as a country.'
For his part, Volodin said that Russia and South Africa have huge opportunities to increase interaction in various areas of cooperation. According to him, trade turnover between the two countries increased by 16.7 per cent last year.
The meeting was held in preparation for the second International Russia-Africa Parliamentary Conference, which will take place in Moscow on March 19-20. The participation of 39 states in the conference has been confirmed.
03:16Speaker of South Africa's National Assembly of Parliament Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nkakula stressed the importance of prioritising the African continent by Moscow during a meeting with Speaker of the Russian State Duma Vyacheslav Volodin in Moscow on Friday.
"Quite a number of countries also tend to look to the African continent for purposes of extracting our resources. But for Russia, we believe, given historical relations which we have with you, we believe that a number of countries will attend this summit because they know that there is a genuine interest of the African people," said Mapisa-Nkakula.
The politician also assured colleagues of South Africa's cooperation during a 'very difficult time for Russia as a country.'
For his part, Volodin said that Russia and South Africa have huge opportunities to increase interaction in various areas of cooperation. According to him, trade turnover between the two countries increased by 16.7 per cent last year.
The meeting was held in preparation for the second International Russia-Africa Parliamentary Conference, which will take place in Moscow on March 19-20. The participation of 39 states in the conference has been confirmed.