Lavrov Says Discussed Energy Security With African Union Troika's Foreign Ministers

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 08th July, 2020) Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Wednesday discussed the energy issues, including the energy security, with his counterparts from the African Union troika of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Egypt and South Africa.

"We have also discussed the energy needs of African countries. These needs are growing rapidly given the pace of development of the continent's countries. We have considered strengthening the energy security for Africans, including through cooperation with the Russian Federation, and in the field of hydrocarbons, and especially in the nuclear energy area," Lavrov said at a press conference.

He added that issues which had been raised today by the African side, as well as the initiatives on how to develop better economic relations, would be discussed within the framework of the Association for Economic and Trade Cooperation with African Countries, created last month via the secretariat of the Russia-Africa Partnership Forum.

The association is said to include Russian companies like Rosatom, Alrosa, Gazprombank, Trammashholding, and others.

Russia has been making considerable inroads in Africa with its companies helping to develop natural resources various countries, including Angola, Nigeria, Zimbabwe, South Africa, and Mozambique, as well as developing nuclear cooperation with countries like Ethiopia, Nigeria, Zambia, Ghana, Uganda, Sudan, and the DRC.