Putin pledges up to 50,000 tns of free grain to several African states

ST. PETERSBURG, Jul 27 (PRIME) -- Russia is ready to send 25,000–50,000 tonnes of grain per country to Burkina Faso, Mali, Eritrea and other African states for free, President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday at a Russia–Africa forum.

"We will be ready to deliver 25,000–50,000 tonnes of grain free of charge to Burkina Faso, Eritrea, Mali, Somalia, the Central African Republic and Zimbabwe each in the next few months, in the next three to four months. We will ensure free delivery of the products to the customers," Putin said.

He estimated Russian grain delivery to Africa in 2022 at 11.5 million tonnes and in January–June 2023 at almost 10 million tonnes.

Moscow is also discussing a transfer of agricultural technologies to the African states, he said.

More than 30 energy projects with Russian participation are being discussed with 16 African countries, Putin said.

"Russian company RusHydro is providing a wide range of services to the African partners, from engineering and supplies of equipment to upgrade and construction of new ready-to-launch generating capacities. Gazprom, Rosneft, Lukoil, Zarubezhneft are the companies developing oil and gas deposits in Algeria, Egypt, Cameroon, Nigeria and the Republic of the Congo," he said.

Exports of Russian oil, oil products and liquefied natural gas to Africa more than doubled over the last two years, he said.

Putin suggested settlements in the national currencies, including the ruble, in the transactions and expansion of direct flight networks.

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