Русский
Russia’s Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak has been visiting Mali at the Russian President’s direction, according to the Kremlin. Novak led a Russian business delegation, and held meetings with Mali’s interim Prime Minister Abdoulaye Maig, several government ministers and met with the country’s interim President Assimi Goita in Bamako, the capital.
Mali faces daunting social, economic and defense challenges, with two military coups since the summer of 2020. During the first one in August 2020, President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita was removed from power. A group of military officers led by Colonel Goita appointed Ba Ndao as interim president. However, he was ousted by the same military group in May 2021. A ruling by Mali’s Constitutional Court appointed Goita as head of state for a transitional period. It was originally intended that free and transparent presidential elections would take place at the end of the transitional period, in February 2024. The date for the end of the transition was then postponed to March 26. After that date, the end of the transition and the elections were postponed until the security situation in the country improves.
The Russian delegation discussed trade and economic ties and cooperation in the energy sector, transport, infrastructure, agriculture and the extraction of mineral resources.
Mali’s key industry is agriculture, with cotton the country’s largest crop export. Gold is mined in the southern region, with Mali having the third highest gold production in Africa (after South Africa and Ghana). Other natural resources include kaolin, salt, phosphate, and limestone. Mali has also made efficient use of hydroelectricity, consisting of over half of Mali’s electrical power.
In May, Mali’s Energy Ministry announced the construction of a 200 megawatt (MW) solar power plant near the capital, Bamako, by NovaWind – the wind energy division of Rosatom. NovaWind’s director, Grigory Nazarov, said the facility, which will cost US$217 million, will increase the country’s electricity production by 10%.
Glavkosmos, a subsidiary of Russia’s Roscosmos State Corporation, has signed an agreement with the authorities of the Sahel Alliance of States countries – Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso – to acquire three satellites – communications, Earth remote sensing and radar for defense and security, providing security and telecommunications satellites in the region.
Further Reading
The Russia-Africa Partnership Forum: Ministerial Level Conference
