Russia delivered a humanitarian cargo of 25,000 tonnes of free grain to Mali, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Wednesday.
“On January 6, 25,000 tonnes of Russian wheat were delivered to the port of Conakry [Republic of Guinea] by sea. It is intended to be transferred as humanitarian aid to the Republic of Mali. On January 9, this humanitarian cargo was officially handed over to Malian officials,” Zakharova stated at a briefing.
As the spokeswoman noted, the delivery of wheat was carried out within the framework of the decision of Russian President Vladimir Putin to provide food aid to a number of African countries, which was adopted at the second Russia-Africa summit in St. Petersburg last summer.
“This is already the fourth delivery of free Russian goods, which are so necessary for the population of Mali today,” Zakharova added.
Russia intends to continue providing humanitarian aid to African countries and help them overcome complex socio-economic problems, the press secretary concluded.
In July last year, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced that Russia would provide grain as humanitarian aid to six African nations — Mali, Burkina Faso, Zimbabwe, the Central African Republic, Eritrea, and Somalia.
In November, Russian Agriculture Minister Dmitry Patrushev revealed that Russia would send up to 200,000 tonnes of Russian wheat free of charge by the end of 2023.
Thus, Somalia, the Central African Republic and Eritrea have already received their 25,000 tonne batches of free grain. Burkina Faso and Zimbabwe are also expected to receive the aid soon.
In addition to grain, Russia also provides free fertilizers to Africa. Since the end of 2022, Uralchem Group, a Russian fertilizer company, has successfully delivered more than 134,000 tonnes of fertilizer to the continent, according to the company's statement.