Mali’s Prime Minister, Choguel Kokalla Maïga, traveled to Doha, Qatar on February 28 to attend the 5th Least Developed Countries (LDC) Conference jointly organized by the UN and Qatar.
The Prime Minister’s schedule was very busy, but he certainly found time to meet with a representative of a friendly country with which cooperation has developed so rapidly in recent times.
On the sidelines of a conference in Qatar, Choguel Kokalla Maiga met with Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Vershinin to discuss the organization of the delivery of fertilizer, petrol, grain and other supplies from Russia.
“We have discussed with Russia all areas of cooperation, especially the counter-terrorism competences that Russia has. In the fight against terrorism, Mali and Russia are looking in the same direction. We also want to develop cooperation with Russia in the economic area, we want to agree with Russia on the supply of fertilizer, petrol, bread, grain to Mali, which was discussed during today’s negotiations,” said the Malian Prime Minister.
He pointed out that the Malian leadership “does not pay attention to the West’s resistance to cooperation with Russia.
It should be noted that Russia has repeatedly stressed its firm intention to cooperate with African countries in the supply of grain and fertilizer to the continent of Africa.
Today, many tons of Russian fertilizer are sitting in ports and stockpiles in Europe, waiting to be shipped to Africa, where they are sorely needed. In mid-November 2022, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Vershinin said it took more than two months to release a single shipment – 20,000 tons of Russian fertilizer – from the Netherlands to Malawi. He said Western sanctions are preventing the release of some 280,000 tons of fertilizer stuck in ports in Latvia, Estonia, Belgium and the Netherlands.
The fertilizer for Malawi, shipped from the Netherlands at the end of November 2022, was unloaded on February 1 at the port in the Mozambican city of Beira. The fertilizer was then transported by land to its destination. An official handover ceremony took place on March 6 in Lilongwe, a suburb of the Malawian capital.
While continuing to fight methodically against sanctions, Russia is keeping its promises and strengthening cooperation with African countries. And after the negotiations between Shogel Maiga and Segei Vershinin, Russia and Mali are one step closer to mutually beneficial agreements.
