‘Zim-Russia relations excellent’

Gibson Nyikadzino Herald Correspondent

Russia’s Ambassador to Zimbabwe has expressed satisfaction with the two countries’ excellent bilateral relations, indicating that the two allies are now moving towards “exploring new ways and new opportunities” to enhance cooperation.

After paying a courtesy call on Foreign Affairs and International Trade Minister Dr Frederick Shava at his Munhumutapa offices on Monday, Ambassador Nikolai Krasilnikov told the media that the former had accepted an invitation to attend a ministerial conference in Sochi in November.

Ambassador Krasilnikov said he was impressed by “the excellent exchange of views and opinions” with Minister Shava, whom he said agreed to attend the November conference.

“I had the privilege to discuss with Minister Shava a number of issues that are high on the agenda for bilateral relations, and we had an excellent exchange of views and opinions on how to move forward in terms of enhancing partnership and cooperation in various spheres for the mutual benefit of our nations.

“The Honourable Minister has accepted the message of invitation by Honourable Minister Sergey Lavrov (Russia’s Foreign Minister) to attend a ministerial conference in a follow-up to the Second Russia-Africa Summit.

“In the meeting, I confirmed the eagerness of my government to proceed with exploring new ways and new opportunities for our interaction and collaboration in various spheres and dimensions,” the Russian envoy said.

According to Ambassador Krasilnikov, the November conference will be a platform to analyse what has been done and what has to be achieved in terms of implementation of the decisions made at last year’s Second Russia-Africa Summit in St Petersburg.

At last year’s meeting, the summit adopted a number of declarations relating to joint efforts in countering terrorism and preventing an arms race in open space.

“Besides the main declaration, there were multilateral decisions taken on joining efforts in countering terrorism, in preventing an arms race in open space, and on facilitating cooperation in the field of international information technology security,” he added.

Zimbabwe and Russia have strong historical and solid bilateral bonds that have expanded and grown in various spheres.