The Russian president is discussing partnership opportunities following the third Russia-Africa Summit<\/p>\n
Russian President Vladimir Putin is holding a series of bilateral meetings with African leaders at the Kremlin on Friday, following the third Russia-Africa Summit.
\nThe talks involve African heads of state, including from Sudan, Madagascar, Ghana, Mali, South Sudan, the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Eritrea, as well as the prime minister of Togo.
\nThe meetings follow the two-day summit, held in Moscow on October 28-29, which focused on expanding trade, investment, energy, security, and humanitarian cooperation between Russia and African nations.<\/p>\n
Read more<\/p>\n
Russia-Africa Summit: Four days of dealmaking the West wanted Africa to skip<\/p>\n
During Friday\u2019s talks with Sudan\u2019s Sovereign Council Chairman Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, the Sudanese leader proposed establishing a free economic zone on the Red Sea for Russian fuel and wheat storage facilities, as well as cooperation on a railway linking Port Sudan to Chad.
\nBurhan also offered Russian investors access to Sudan\u2019s gold and copper deposits.
\nPutin presented a roadmap for bilateral cooperation and said Russia-Sudan trade had more than doubled in 2025, rising by a further 25% in January-August 2026.
\nAddressing the ongoing conflict in Sudan, Putin reiterated Moscow\u2019s support for a political settlement and proposed discussing additional steps Russia could take to help resolve the crisis.\u00a0
\nIn a separate meeting with Madagascar President Michael Randrianirina, Putin highlighted expanding educational ties, noting that around 5,000 Malagasy students have studied in Russia and that MGIMO University signed a cooperation memorandum with Madagascar\u2019s Foreign Ministry in June.
\nPutin also welcomed the Russian Orthodox Church\u2019s recognition as a legal entity in Madagascar in April, noting that it has more than 1,500 parishioners on the island.
\nRandrianirina called for stronger practical cooperation and urged Moscow to accelerate work on debt conversion.
\nDuring talks with Ghanaian President John Dramani Mahama, Putin said bilateral trade had grown by 6% between January and August. He added that Ghana ranks 12th among Russia\u2019s African trading partners. The Russian leader also praised Ghana\u2019s independent foreign policy and its opposition to neocolonialism, thanking Accra for its support for Russian resolutions at the UN.<\/p>\n
Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ghanaian President John Dramani Mahama<\/p>\n
\u00a9\u00a0 Kirill Zykov \/ Sputnik \/ Russia-Africa Summit and Economic and Humanitarian forum host \u0440hoto agency <\/p>\n
Mahama expressed interest in expanding economic and investment cooperation with Moscow. The leader praised Russia for having \u201calways stood by Africa\u201d during the struggle against apartheid and for supporting the continent during the Covid-19 pandemic through supplies of Sputnik V vaccines.
\nAt a meeting with Mali\u2019s transitional president, Assimi Goita, Putin said Russia had increased its scholarship quota for Malian students to 300 places for the 2026-27 academic year, citing growing interest in Russian education and language studies. He added that six Russian language and cultural centers are operating in the West African country.<\/p>\n
Russian President Vladimir Putin and Mali’s transitional President Assimi Goita<\/p>\n
\u00a9\u00a0 Kirill Zykov \/ Sputnik \/ Russia-Africa Summit and Economic and Humanitarian forum host \u0440hoto agency <\/p>\n
During the summit, Putin also held at least nine more bilateral meetings with other African leaders, including the presidents of Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Mozambique, Namibia, the Republic of the Congo, Burundi, and Kenya, as well as Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and Libya\u2019s Presidential Council Chairman Mohamed al-Menfi.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The Russian president is discussing partnership opportunities following the third Russia-Africa Summit Russian President Vladimir Putin is holding a series of bilateral meetings with African leaders at the Kremlin on…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":40828,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"initial","rop_publish_now_accounts":[],"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","footnotes":""},"categories":[4,6,3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-40827","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-economy","category-environment","category-politics"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t