Russia and South Africa intend to portray direct flights
Russia uses direct air links with South Africa for the second Russia-Africa summit, scheduled for July 26-29, 2023. This was announced by Oleg Ozerov, Ambassador on behalf of the Russian Foreign Ministry, head of the secretariat of the Russia-Africa Outreach Forum.
“If necessary, and we use for the summit, say, direct flights to South Africa – tourists will go, it will be chosen from preferences, firstly, it expands propaganda stereotypes as well … And it stimulates the study of the Russian language,” Mr. Ozerov during the discussion “Russia and South Africa said: Is Africa closer than it seems?” at the site of the Valdai Club (quote from RIA Novosti).
In preparation for the Russia-Africa summit scheduled for July in St. Petersburg, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov hosted South Africa on January 23. Among the promising topics of cooperation with South Africa, the Russian minister named world space, high technologies, smart cities and nuclear energy.
South Africa is one of the five most important partners of Russia on the African continent. In 2021, bilateral trade, according to the Federal Customs Service of the Russian Federation, amounted to 1,139 billion US dollars.
Discussions about launching charter flights between federal agencies have been around for a long time. The Ambassador of the Republic to the Russian Federation, Mzuvukile Maketuka, spoke about this on January 22, that at the end of February 2022, four direct flights of the Nordwind airline were used in the country. Air traffic with South Africa, interrupted during the pandemic, was restored on October 5, 2021.
For more information about Sergey Lavrov’s visit to South Africa, see Kommersant’s article “Russia Found an Honest Partner in South Africa.”