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Meeting with President of the Republic of Burundi Evariste Ndayishimiye

Vladimir Putin met with President of the Republic of Burundi Evariste Ndayishimiye on the sidelines of the Russia-Africa Summit at the Expo Forum.

President of Russia Vladimir Putin: Mr President, friends.

I am delighted to welcome you to St Petersburg. We view Burundi as a reliable partner and our reliable friend on the African continent. Last year, Russia and Burundi marked 60 years of diplomatic relations.

Today we can discuss plans for bilateral cooperation and later exchange views on regional matters with you, Mr President, and other colleagues, including in the context of Burundi’s current chairmanship in the East African Community.

We noted, with satisfaction, that our political contacts have intensified this year. In March, the Burundian Foreign Minister took part in talks in Sochi. In May, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov became the first foreign minister of Russia to visit Burundi.

Earlier, in February, Burundi was visited by Anna Popova, Head of the Federal Service for the Oversight of Consumer Protection and Welfare (Rospotrebnadzor). Mr President, I appreciate it that you found time in your schedule to meet with her personally.

In January-April, Russia-Burundi trade grew at a higher rate than in 2022. The absolute figures are still relatively small, but we have good prospects for ramping up our partnership.

We are expanding the legal framework of our links. On the sidelines of this summit, Russia and Burundi plan to sign documents on nuclear energy, healthcare, justice and labour.

We are satisfied with our cooperation in healthcare. Our specialised agencies signed an agreement on establishing a Russian-Burundian research centre for contagious diseases. The first joint research into severe infections at the research centre is scheduled for this October.

In early 2024, we plan to hand over a mobile express diagnostics laboratory based on a GAZ vehicle. It is currently in production.

Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov: We have seen it already.

Vladimir Putin: Great. Minister Lavrov is saying that you have seen it today. A model of this laboratory is on display at the summit.

We provide training to Burundian professionals. In the course of our cooperation, we have trained 4,500 specialists from Burundi. Eighty-four students are currently studying in Russia. In view of the growing demand, we have doubled the government quota to 100 places.

We have also noted with satisfaction the Burundian people’s growing interest in learning Russian. On May 15, the Department of Foreign Languages of the University of Burundi opened a Russian language section.

Mr President, colleagues, I want to note that Russia and Burundi have similar approaches to most international issues. We are grateful for the support for Russian initiatives at multilateral platforms. Certainly, we are interested in further constructive cooperation with you, particularly at the UN.

Once again, welcome to Russia.

President of the Republic of Burundi Evariste Ndayishimiye (retranslated): Thank you very much, Mr President.

Your Excellency, it is a great pleasure for me to meet you in your wonderful country.

On behalf of my delegation and from me personally, I would like to thank you with all my heart for the warm reception and legendary hospitality that the Government and people of Russia have accorded to us from the moment of our arrival.

I would also like to convey to you the sincere greetings from the people of Burundi to the people of Russia. Although we are geographically remote, we have had close relations over the decades.

Your Excellency, this visit gives me a great opportunity to briefly discuss with you the general situation in my country and to talk about the positive influence of Russian-Burundian cooperation.

This meeting is taking place at a time when Burundi and Russia have wonderful bilateral relations that rest on the joint values of sovereignty, mutual respect, solidarity, sincere friendship and consideration for mutual interests.

Burundi and Russia support each other at international platforms, for example, the UN Security Council and Human Rights Council. In addition, we have the same vision on the reform of the UN Security Council, in part, as regards the need to correct the historical injustice towards Africa. The people of Burundi continue sincerely thanking the people of Russia for their solidarity. We welcome the Russian Government’s adherence to the principle of non-interference and its support for our national sovereignty during the diplomatic and political aggression of some countries against Burundi.

I would also like to welcome an exchange of visits and interaction at the top level on both sides. Today, this can allow us to reach harmony in our approach to global challenges.

I would like to confirm that Burundi is and will always be an ally of Russia, on which it can always rely in defending its vital national interests.

Source: kremlin.ru

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“We highly value the results of our joint work at the summit. I am sure the achieved results are creating a good foundation for further deepening the Russia-Africa partnership in the interests of our nations’ prosperity and wellbeing.”

President of the Russian Federation
Vladimir Putin

The Russia–Africa Summit, which is taking place in Sochi on 23–24 October 2019, encapsulates the historically friendly relations between the African continent and the Russian Federation. This Summit carries great significance as it is the first of its kind to emerge during a period of major global and international transformations. In response to the aspirations of the people it is representing, the Summit intends to build a comprehensive framework for expanding Russian–African relations into broader horizons of joint cooperation across different fields.

The African nations and Russia share a common understanding of international relations, based on the principles of respect for the rule of international law, equality, non-interference in the internal affairs of states, and the peaceful resolution of disputes. Both sides affirm their commitment to support multilateral actions to oppose new international threats, be they terrorism and extremism in all their forms, or declining growth rates. The two sides share a firm conviction regarding the importance of developing trade flows and supporting mutual investment in such a way as to ensure security, peace and development for the African and Russian people.

African countries have huge potential and opportunities that will allow them, once efforts to streamline their economies have been achieved, to emerge as real global players. In recent years, the nations of this continent have achieved major successes spanning the political, economic, social and administrative spheres. Africa has flourished in terms of growth over the past decade, reaching a continent-wide growth rate of 3.55% in 2018.

The African Union Summit, which was held in Niger in July 2019, continued the efforts of the African countries and saw the African Continental Free Trade Agreement come into force, along with its operational instruments. The agreement is one of the key objectives of Agenda 2063, an African development strategy that has been created to address the African people’s desire for prosperity and decent living standards.

These successes are opening up wide-ranging prospects for cooperation between African countries and the Russian Federation, and confirm the determination of African governments and their people to cooperate with multiple partners in order to establish mutually beneficial relations.

With this in mind, we express our hopes that the Russia–Africa Summit will help in the establishment of constructive strategic relations, based on partnership between two sides across various fields, and in the service of fulfilling the hopes and aspirations of the African people and their friends in Russia.

President of the Arab Republic of Egypt
Abdelfattah ALSISI