"We expect that Russia will continue to provide us with assistance that will allow us to ensure lasting peace on our territory and create conditions for sustainable economic development, because we understand that economic advancement is impossible without peace in the country," Poloko said.
The official also said that the security issues have been affecting the country's economic development "for the last 30 years," and that these problems are not so pressing now as they were two or three years ago.
Russian presence in CAR has been growing since 2017, when CAR President Faustin Archange Touadera met with Russian Foreign Minster Sergey Lavrov and, a year later, with President Vladimir Putin. The relations were further solidified in 2019, when Russia's Sochi hosted the first Russia-Africa Summit and Economic Forum.
In February, Russian Ambassador to CAR Alexander Bikantov told Sputnik that the CAR armed forces had defeated most of the illegal armed groups in the country with the support of Russian military instructors, who trained the country's military, police, and gendarmerie, as well as held consultations in the fight against illegal armed groups.