Russia Inclined to Donate Grain to Neediest African Countries

Russia is willing to provide grain to the least fortunate African countries at no cost, Russian President Vladimir Putin said during the Russia-Africa Economic and Humanitarian Forum plenary meeting held in St. Petersburg, Russian Agency TASS reported on Thursday.
Putin stated, “I have already said that our country can replace Ukrainian grain both on a commercial [basis] and as grant aid to the neediest African countries.”
Putin provided a list of possible African receivers of free Russian grain in the coming months. “Within three to four months, we will be ready to send 25,000 to 50,000 metric tons of grain to Burkina Faso, Zimbabwe, Mali, Somalia, the Central African Republic, and Eritrea.”
Russia stands ready to assist African nations in implementing cutting-edge agricultural technology, added the Russian President.
Along the same line, Putin declared that trade transactions between Russia and Africa exceeded $18 billion in 2022, as one of the outcomes of the Russia-Africa summit in Sochi.
He added that the Russian Federation is planning to set up branches of Russia’s biggest universities in the continent, saying that around 35K Africans are studying in Russian universities.