SOCHI (Sputnik) - The inaugural Russia-Africa summit and business forum will commence on 23 October in the Russian southern resort city of Sochi, surrounded by high expectations regarding deepening political, economic and trade cooperation between Moscow and the countries of the continent. "The summit is largely aimed at expansion of political, economic, trade and investment cooperation with the African countries. The trade between Russia and Africa has increased from $17.4 billion in 2017 to $20.4 billion in 2018," she said. A number of African countries are developing very fast, at a pace higher than the global average. Russia historically has strong ties with a number of African countries and Russia has never been a colonial power.

Source: Ethiopian News October 23, 2019 02:15 UTC