On Tuesday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov arrived in Mali with his first working visit, a TASS correspondent reports.
During the visit, the Russian foreign minister will meet with Interim President Assimi Goita as well as his Malian counterpart Abdoulaye Diop.
According to the Russian foreign ministry, the sides are expected to discuss the expansion of Russian-Malian cooperation in trade, economic and investment sectors and intensify cooperation in such promising areas as mineral resources development, geological exploration, energy, infrastructure and agriculture.
Particular attention will be paid to practical aspects of Russian deliveries of wheat, fertilizers and oil products to Mali.
The parties are also expected to discuss international and African issues, with a focus on developments around Ukraine, crisis management and combating terrorism in the Sahara-Sahel and West Africa. The ministry added that there were plans to consider further strengthening of military and military-technical ties, as well as humanitarian cooperation.
Earlier Lavrov paid a visit to Baghdad.
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Photo: Russian Foreign Ministry
Based on materials from TASS