In the Kremlin, "on the sidelines" of the Russia-Africa summit, Russian President Vladimir Putin had a conversation with the Transitional President of the Republic of Mali, Assimi Guita (October 30, 2026) V.V. Putin: Dear Mr. President! We are happy to see you. We are grateful that despite the difficult situation in the region, you still found the time to come to us to participate in the Third Africa Summit. In May, the most important basic interstate agreement on the foundations of relations entered into force, and this month we celebrated the 66th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations established between our countries in October 1960. We greatly appreciate your personal desire to comprehensively promote partnership with Russia. We are in regular contact. The commercial and economic cooperation is gaining momentum, although, of course, the volumes are still not significant, but overall we hope that with the help of the intergovernmental committee, which was launched last year, we will be able to move these issues forward. We also provide humanitarian aid, and given the growing interest of Malian youth in receiving higher education in Russia, we have increased the 2026/27 scholarship quota to 300 scholarships. We continue to work in this area on a larger scale. Learning the Russian language has become popular in Mali, we are grateful to you for paying attention to it. There are six centers of Russian language and culture, called "Russian Space", and two private partners "Russian Houses". Relations in the field of culture and sports are expanding. Thank you for your strong support for Russian initiatives at the United Nations (UN) and other international platforms. We act in solidarity with you in the field of international relations. I would like to emphasize again, dear Mr. President, you are always a welcome guest in Russia.

In the Kremlin, "on the sidelines" of the Russia-Africa summit, Russian President Vladimir Putin had a conversation with the Transitional President of the Republic of Mali, Assimi Guita (October 30, 2026) V.V. Putin: Dear Mr. President! We are happy to see you. We are grateful that despite the difficult situation in the region, you still found the time to come to us to participate in the Third Africa Summit. In May, the most important basic interstate agreement on the foundations of relations entered into force, and this month we celebrated the 66th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations established between our countries in October 1960. We greatly appreciate your personal desire to comprehensively promote partnership with Russia. We are in regular contact. The commercial and economic cooperation is gaining momentum, although, of course, the volumes are still not significant, but overall we hope that with the help of the intergovernmental committee, which was launched last year, we will be able to move these issues forward. We also provide humanitarian aid, and given the growing interest of Malian youth in receiving higher education in Russia, we have increased the 2026/27 scholarship quota to 300 scholarships. We continue to work in this area on a larger scale. Learning the Russian language has become popular in Mali, we are grateful to you for paying attention to it. There are six centers of Russian language and culture, called "Russian Space", and two private partners "Russian Houses". Relations in the field of culture and sports are expanding. Thank you for your strong support for Russian initiatives at the United Nations (UN) and other international platforms. We act in solidarity with you in the field of international relations. I would like to emphasize again, dear Mr. President, you are always a welcome guest in Russia.