Lavrov, IGAD Executive Secretary Discuss Cooperation In COVID Response In Africa - Moscow

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 16th September, 2020) Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Workneh Gebeyehu, the executive secretary of East Africa's Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), discussed the Russia-IGAD cooperation in the coronavirus response on the African continent during a meeting in Moscow on Wednesday, the Russian Foreign Ministry said.

"During the meeting, the progress in implementing the decisions of the first Russia-Africa summit (Sochi, October 23-24, 2019) was discussed, with an emphasis on the tasks of expanding cooperation with African integration associations. Particular attention was paid to the development of cooperation between Russia and the IGAD in the humanitarian and educational sphere, assistance to African countries in the fight against the pandemic of the new coronavirus infection, and overcoming the consequences of the locust outbreak in East Africa," the ministry said.

The sides also discussed ongoing conflicts in the Horn of Africa region.

"The readiness of Russia and the IGAD to build up coordinated efforts in the interests of establishing lasting peace in South Sudan, stabilization in Somalia, and the search for mutually acceptable solutions to other pressing issues of the region was confirmed," the ministry added.

Members of the IGAD trade bloc include Djibouti, Ethiopia, Somalia, Eritrea, Sudan, South Sudan, Kenya and Uganda.