The third Russia-Africa summit will help strengthen strategic cooperation between Moscow and African countries, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said in his greetings to the organizers and participants of the international conference titled “Spiritual Bridges: Russia and Africa. Dialogue for Peace and Creation.”

“Today, the Russian-African cooperation is strategic in nature, covering the widest range of issues from politics and the economy to education and culture. The third Russia-Africa summit, which will open tomorrow in Moscow, will undoubtedly contribute to its further strengthening,” the foreign minister noted.

Lavrov stressed that Russia is interested in Africa becoming an influential center of a multipolar world and “is firmly committed to the Africans’ inalienable right to independently determine their own development paths and models.”