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Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov

Sergey Viktorovich Lavrov is a Russian diplomat who has been the Minister of Foreign Affairs since 2004. He arrived today on his first working visit to Mali, TASS reported.

The Russian first diplomat plans to meet today with the president and leader of the military junta, Colonel Assimi Goita, as well as with his Malian counterpart, Abdoulaye Diop, after which a joint press conference is scheduled, notes France Presse.

Earlier, Lavrov visited Baghdad, where he began his diplomatic tour, which includes four countries - Iraq, Mali, Mauritania and Sudan.

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The Russian Foreign Ministry indicated that the negotiations with the Malian leaders are expected to touch on issues such as the expansion of Russian-Malian cooperation in the trade-economic and investment spheres, the activation of interaction in promising areas such as mining, energy, infrastructure and agriculture.

Among the other topics of the negotiations will be the practical aspects of the upcoming deliveries to Mali of Russian wheat, fertilizers and petroleum products.

The two sides are expected to discuss issues on the international and African agenda with a focus on the war in Ukraine, the fight against jihadism in the Sahel and West Africa.

The Russian Foreign Ministry indicated that it is planned to discuss issues related to the strengthening of military and military-technical ties, as well as humanitarian cooperation.

Although Malian ministers have already visited Moscow several times, Lavrov's arrival in Mali was presented by the Malian authorities as "the first of its kind", according to AFP.

His visit "materialized the firm will" of Presidents Assimi Goita and Vladimir Putin

Vladimir Putin - Russian politician.

Born on October 7, 1952 in Leningrad, now Saint Petersburg. In order to "give impetus to a new dynamic" in bilateral cooperation in the field of defense and security, as well as in the economic field, the Malian Foreign Ministry said in a statement, quoted by AFP .

Vladimir Putin

Sergey Lavrov