Ahmad 
Abdullah Diop, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Mali, confirmed that his country wants to accelerate the implementation of a plan to enhance its military capabilities in cooperation with the Russian Federation.
The minister said in an interview with “Novosti” Agency that his country’s government is discussing programs to purchase Russian military equipment with the Russian side.
Recently, a high-level Russian delegation headed by the Deputy Minister of Defense visited the Malian capital, Bamako. This visit aims to continue the dialogue and strengthen the military partnership between the two countries.
This visit reflects Mali’s desire to accelerate the implementation of the plan to “build and strengthen national military and defense capabilities,” according to the Minister of Finance.
The Minister pointed out that this visit “is considered a continuation of the dialogue in order to strengthen the strategic military partnership between our two countries, and this cooperation is based on enhancing the combat capabilities of the defense and security forces in Mali in order to achieve a greater degree of self-sufficiency, as well as the program for purchasing military equipment.”
Last May, Financial Minister Bento Camara announced that his country’s authorities had begun cooperating with the Russian Federal Government in building the largest solar energy station in West Africa.
This project reflects the expansion of cooperation between Mali and Russia to include other strategic areas, including the energy sector.
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