24.10.2019

Kirsan Ilyumzhinov: Africa is very important for Russia just as Russia is important for Africa

The first president of Kalmykia, the sixth president of FIDE, being at the Sochi Russia-Africa forum, said that Africa is very important for Russia and Russia is important for Africa. “The summit is very well organized. All had been done perfectly and at the highest level!” Kirsan Ilyumzhinov said.

He added: “Almost half of the world's minerals are concentrated on the African continent and this is despite the fact that its underground resources are still poorly researched.

Developed European countries, as soon as they realized this, immediately began such research. The pie turned out to be so large that the "masters" did not even fight over it. A hundred years ago, there was the predatory plunder of natural resources, the genocide of the population, the endless crimes of “civilizers” all over the Africa . Unfortunately, not only the echoes of those events, but also the continuation of colonial policy by other means, still hinders the development of African countries.

In Africa, they are still grateful to Russia and are open to cooperation with our country. Such cooperation is extremely interesting to us as well. First of all, of course, we are interested in cooperation in the economic sphere. In the coming decades, Africa will become the largest market. Here they are interested in a wide range of Russian goods, and not only in weapons. They would buy food, technological equipment, fertilizers and much more.
Our joint projects in geological exploration and the construction of energy infrastructure are already developing. Traditionally, Russian education and, by the way, Russian teachers are highly regarded in African countries. And yet, there is almost no cooperation in economics. I have written more than once that, there is everything on this continent - both natural resources and intelligent, hardworking people - in order to become a new centre and driving force for the development of human civilization in the third millennium.”