Russian President Vladimir Putin and South African President Cyril Ramaphosa Friday discussed bilateral ties, trade and global issues on the sidelines of the BRICS summit in New Delhi, India.
Putin said Russia-South Africa relations are developing successfully, highlighting political dialogue, parliamentary ties and cooperation in education and humanitarian affairs.
He said bilateral trade continues to grow and noted that Russia increased its scholarship quota for South African students to 100 for the 2026-27 academic year.
Putin also said Moscow and Pretoria share similar approaches to major international and regional issues and thanked South Africa for supporting Russian initiatives at the United Nations.
Russia-Africa summit
He said Russia is preparing for the third Russia-Africa summit in Moscow on October 28-29, with digital technologies, artificial intelligence, nuclear energy, payment systems and food security among the priorities.
Ramaphosa thanked Putin for supporting South Africa’s G20 presidency and said bilateral trade could be expanded.
He also welcomed continued cooperation and said Pretoria would send a strong delegation to the Russia-Africa summit.
Putin arrived in India earlier on Friday to attend the 18th BRICS summit taking place on Saturday and Sunday.
He held talks with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and is expected to hold several other meetings on the sidelines of the summit, including with Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim and Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed.
