By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
Photo Credit:PresidencyZA.
Russian President Vladimir Putin held a meeting with his South African President Cyril Ramaphosa on the sidelines of the BRICS summit in New Delhi, India.
The meeting of BRICS leaders comes amid the ongoing Ukraine-Russia war over which Pretoria has maintained a neutral stance, calling for a dialogue.
Putin said Russia-South Africa relations are developing successfully, highlighting political dialogue, parliamentary ties and cooperation in education and humanitarian affairs.
He said bilateral trade continues to grow and noted that Russia increased its scholarship quota for South African students to 100 for the 2026-27 academic year.
Putin also said Moscow and Pretoria share similar approaches to major international and regional issues and thanked South Africa for supporting Russian initiatives at the United Nations.
He said Russia is preparing for the third Russia-Africa summit in Moscow on Oct. 28-29, with digital technologies, artificial intelligence, nuclear energy, payment systems and food security among the priorities.
Ramaphosa thanked Putin for supporting South Africa’s G20 presidency and said bilateral trade could be expanded.
He welcomed continued cooperation and said Pretoria would send a strong delegation to the Russia-Africa summit.
Ramaphosa also said he was “very impressed” by Putin’s willingness to settle the Ukraine conflict. He said the war’s economic toll was driving up fertiliser and grain prices that feed into the cost of living for South Africans.
The Russia-Ukraine war began in February 2014 when Russia occupied and annexed Crimea, and it escalated into a full-scale invasion on February, 24, 2022.
BRICS summit is a platform for the bloc’s leaders to reflect on the status of mutually beneficial BRICS cooperation, regional and global economic and political developments, as well as global governance reform.