“The task of bringing Russian and African economic operators closer to their respective markets and encourage their participation in large-scale infrastructure projects is coming to the fore at the next meeting,” Lavrov said.

The Foreign Minister detailed in an article for the African media that said meeting is scheduled to take place in 2023.

Lavrov recalled that the first Russia-Africa Summit and Economic Forum was held in the Russian city of Sochi, from October 22nd to 24th, 2019, under the motto “For peace, security and development”.

The foreign minister also stressed that the development of a comprehensive association with African countries continues to be one of the priorities of Russia’s foreign policy, as they are open to further expansion of mutually beneficial ties.

He stressed that Russia “does not impose anything on anyone, does not educate the lives of others, and has great respect for the sovereignty of African states, their inalienable right to determine their own paths of development. We are firmly committed to the principle African problems – African solutions,” he said.

Lavrov emphasized that such an approach to the development of interstate relations is different from the master-slave logic imposed by the old metropolises, which reproduces the obsolete colonial model.

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