Putin, Santos to discuss bilateral, international issues in Moscow

Moscow, Oct 30 (UNI) Angolan President Jose Eduardo Dos Santos is arriving here today on a three-day visit during which he is scheduled to hold talks on bilateral and urgent international issues with top Russian officials including President Vladimir Putin.

The delibertions would focus on giving a new thrust to the relations between Russia and Angola, the Kremlin press service said.

Recently, Moscow has been seeking to re-establish contacts with African states, including oil-rich Angola.

Mr Putin and his Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov made separate visits to Africa this fall, signalling a fresh interest in business cooperation since the collapse of the Soviet Union, which supplied arms and other goods to Africa during the Cold War.

Russia is currently Angola's 10th largest partner. Last month, Mr Lavrov, during his meeting with Santos, urged more intensive cooperation with Russia, above all in the development of new iron ore, oil and gas deposits, and space.

Other areas of cooperation between Russia and Angola include diamond production, power engineering, and fisheries.

Russia's largest diamond producer, Alrosa, has about a 40 per cent stake in the Catoca diamond joint venture in Angola, which produces around 6 million carats of crude diamonds a year.

Earlier this month, Mr Putin said the relations between Russia and Angola can be brought to a higher level of cooperation.

''At present, our cooperation encompasses almost all spheres of intergovernmental relations,'' Mr Putin said in a congratulatory message to Santos on the occasion of the 30th anniversary of the bilateral Treaty on Friendship and Cooperation.

''I am certain that we have good prospects to bring Russian-Angolan ties to a new level,'' he noted.

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