Chairman of the State Duma Committee on International Affairs Leonid Slutsky took part in the opening of the Fourth International Forum “Russia – Africa: What’s Next?”, which is being held from April 22 to 25 at the MGIMO site in Moscow.
Speaking at the meeting, Leonid Slutsky noted that the development of cooperation with the countries of the Black Continent is one of the priorities of Russia’s foreign policy. “Today, Africa is the center of attention and, perhaps, in some sense, the center of gravity. African projects are infrastructurally significant for the foreign policy and for the economy of various leading countries of the world. And Russia is at the forefront here,” said Leonid Slutsky.
The head of the Committee emphasized that Moscow is successfully conducting practical cooperation in the political, trade and economic, cultural and humanitarian spheres with African countries. “Of course, all these components are projected onto the parliamentary plane. We held the Russia-Africa parliamentary forum, significantly increased cooperation through Friendship groups and specialized parliamentary committees, and intend to develop and expand inter-parliamentary cooperation,” concluded L. Slutsky.