Moscow is attempting to develop additional direct flights to the continent in order to increase tourism, according to senior diplomat Oleg Ozerov, who spoke to TASS.
According to Oleg Ozerov, Russia’s envoy general to TASS, the country wants to sign visa-free agreements with other nations in Africa. The diplomat, who is also in charge of the Russia-Africa Partnership Forum’s secretariat, noted that even though the procedure is challenging, there is universal agreement that travel restrictions had to be loosened.
Tuesday, Ozerov stated in an interview with the news agency, “We have visa-free agreements with six [African] countries, and undoubtedly the work is underway with other states.” The second Russia-Africa Summit, held in St. Petersburg in late July, resulted in an agreement between Moscow and the African countries to facilitate bilateral cooperation, he added.
The envoy pointed out that progress cannot be anticipated to be made overnight but rather gradually, with talks moving at various rates with other nations.
Currently, Tunisia, Morocco, South Africa, Namibia, Eswatini, and Botswana do not require visas for visitors from Russia.
Moscow is attempting to create direct flights to several African nations, the envoy claims, and some progress has already been made in this direction.
According to Ozerov, “we anticipate that in the upcoming months our tourists will be able to travel directly to several countries on the continent from Russian cities.” Travellers have “a lot” of prospective vacation spots that are “safe, stable, and very interesting in terms of history, culture, nature, and people living there” that are just waiting to be discovered.
Along with the more well-known Tanzania, Namibia, and South Africa, the diplomat claimed that nations like Botswana, Zimbabwe, and Mauritius also had a lot to offer.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov stated that African nations consider Russia as a dependable partner who can help maintain peace and wish to increase cooperation with Moscow in an interview with International Affairs magazine last month.
He asserted that the success of the Russia-Africa meeting, which was attended by numerous official delegations despite “colossal” Western pressure, was evidence of this mindset. High-ranking government representatives came from 27, according to Lavrov.
Roscongress, the event’s organiser, claims that the summit resulted in numerous agreements.
