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Russia to Open Embassies in Gambia, South Sudan, Liberia & Other African Countries

13:29, 19 February 2025

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Ekaterina Shilova

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On February 4, the Russian Foreign Ministry presented a new department for partnership with Africa, with Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov stating that its creation reflects the high priority the Russian leadership places on developing its African foreign policy, as outlined in President Putin's approved Concept of Russian Foreign Policy.

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Russia plans to open embassies in seven African countries in the next two years, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said, speaking at government hour in the State Duma, the lower house of the Russian Federal Assembly.

"We are opening additional embassies. By 2026, we plan to open embassies in the Gambia, Liberia, Comoros [the Comoros Islands], Niger, Sierra Leone, Togo, South Sudan," he said, noting that "seven embassies is quite a serious figure."

The minister also recalled that a second African department has been created in the Russian Foreign Ministry—the Department of Partnership with Africa.

Bilateral relations with the continent's states will continue to be handled by the Department of the Middle East and North Africa and the former Department of Africa, which has now been renamed the Department of Sub-Saharan African States, the minister noted.