… Continues strengthening ties with African countries
BY PHUMELELE MKHONTA
MBABANE– Discussing possibilities with different African countries.
After being in the country from Monday until yesterday afternoon, the Russian Federation Minister of Foreign Affairs Sergey Lavrov headed to Angola where he is currently strengthening bilateral ties with the country.
Lavrov was welcome by Angola Minister of External Affairs Tete Antonio.
This is according to reports from the Russian Ministry of Home Affairs’ official Twitter page.
Worth noting is that before coming to Eswatini, His Excellency Lavrov was in South Africa and he has continued his journey to Angola.
Lavrov is visiting countries which the Russian Federation already has ties with, and discussing the possibilities of a better future with its partners.
Yesterday at Cabinet in Mbabane, Lavrov spoke of the possibilities of supplying Eswatini with fertilizer and grain.
He also promised to add the number of scholarships given to emaSwati.
“One of our main focuses will be assisting in a number of projects to boost the country. We are also planning on increasing the number of scholarships to Eswatini,” said the Russian Federation Minister.
He further extended his invitation to His Majesty King Mswati III to the second Russia-Africa Seminar which was established in 2019 and was abruptly halted by the emergence of COVID-19.
The second Africa-Russia Summit will be hosted in June 2023 in St Petersburg.
Worth noting is that the Government of the Kingdom of Eswatini and the Russian Federation signed a visa-free agreement for holders of Diplomatic and Service Passports. This will enhance cooperation and trade between the two countries.
The agreement signed is indeed an impetus to galvanize cooperation even on other levels.
Currently, 50 Eswatini students are studying in Russia under the aegis of the Russian Ministry of Defence.
Relations between the two countries were established in 1999 and since then, there have been a number of scholarships awarded to emaSwati to study careers such as medicine, engineering, and other fields.
Ten scholarships have been offered to emaSwati students currently and it is expected that these should increase to 25.
The Russian Federation intends to increase bilateral relations and cooperation with Eswatini in agriculture, mining, power generation, and other fields.
