CAR Ready To Cooperate With Russia On Resource Exports, Agriculture - Parliament Speaker

Mohammad Ali (@ChaudhryMAli88) Published October 23, 2022 | 01:40 PM

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 23rd October, 2022) The Central African Republic (CAR) and Russia need to develop economic cooperation, the republic needs investments in the production sector of the economy and is prepared to cooperate with Russia in the export of resources, agriculture, and trade, speaker of the Central African parliament, Simplice Sarandji, told Sputnik in an interview.

"We need investments in the production sector of the economy. The security situation in the country is improving, so the time has come to move on to the development of other areas of cooperation � the export of our resources, support for agriculture and farming, trade," Sarandji said.

The politician explained that he discussed this issue at a meeting with the president of the Russian Chamber of commerce and industry (CCI), Sergey Katyrin, who proposed to conclude a partnership with the CCI of the car to intensify business contacts.

"I told him that the support that Russia provides to my country in the field of security is invaluable, but we also need to develop our economic relations... The president of the chamber listened very carefully and wished to establish relations with the Chamber of commerce and industry in Bangui.

I will inform them upon arrival about this desire so that they can determine in which areas such cooperation is possible in the interests of our peoples and our businessmen," Sarandji added.

CAR Prime Minister Felix Moloua told Sputnik in June that Bangui was discussing with Moscow energy, technology and transport cooperation.

CAR was plunged into a security crisis by a coup in 2013, followed by violence between Muslim-majority Seleka and Christian Anti-Balaka fighters. The government and leaders of 14 armed groups signed a peace deal in February 2019 to put an end to the fighting.

In early 2018, Russia sent its first military instructors to the CAR at the request of the government. As of February 2022, a total of 1,135 Russian instructors have been operating in the country, training military personnel of the CAR army. Moscow has stressed that Russian representatives are not involved in hostilities and were deployed in the CAR with the notification of the UN Security Council.