| Russia returns to Africa: Zimbabwean report |
|
| Tuesday,December 05,2006 Posted: 16:20 BJT(0820 GMT) Xinhua |
Various evidences and figures have shown that Russia has returned to Africa, The Herald, the biggest state media of Zimbabwe, reported on Friday.
The report said in the early 1990s, Russia's own economic problems forced it to leave Africa. As Russia's economy recovered and businesses developed, its interest in Africa began to return.
The article said Russia President Vladimir Putin's recent visit to African countries, including sub-Saharan Africa, gives hope that previous trend has finally been reversed. Putin's promise that Russian businesses will invest billions of dollars in African economies proves that Russia has serious plans about the continent.
At a meeting with ambassadors last June, Putin said that the end of the Cold War had eliminated the previous division of Africa and opened up the entire continent to the cooperation with Moscow.
The report quoted Vladimir Lopatov of the Institute of African Studies at the Russian Academy of Sciences as saying that there is a stable trend of Russian exports prevailing over African imports. This testifies to African consumers' interest in Russian products.
|
Bilateral Visits