Russian President, Vladimir Putin, says his country will supply 50,000 tons of grains to some African countries in the next three months in its bid to ensure food security.
Putin announced this today while declaring the Second Russia–Africa Summit, Economic and Humanitarian Forum 2023 open in St. Petersburg, Russia.
About 17 African countries participating in the summit are represented at the level of head of state.
Putin said Russia would provide the products freely to consumers, adding that with its harvest records, it was ready to replace Ukrainian grain exports to Africa on both commercial and aid basis.
He explained that Russia holds a 20 per cent share of the global wheat market and has already exported 10 million tons of grain to Africa in the first six months of 2023.
He said Russia is ready to provide Zimbabwe, Burkina Faso, Somalia, and Eritrea with 25-50 thousand tons of grain each in the next three to four months and ensure its free delivery to consumers.
The Russian President also announced the preparation of approximately 30 energy projects involving Russia in Africa, with a total capacity of around 3.7 gigawatts across 16 African countries.
He said Russian oil and gas exports to Africa had increased by 2.6 times, adding that Russia could provide Africa with unique non-energy applications of nuclear technology, including medicine
