Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov's opening remarks during talks with Minister for Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of the Republic of Mali Abdoulaye Diop, Bamako, February 7, 2023
7 February 2023 17:23
209-07-02-2023
Mr Minister, my friends, colleagues.
I am delighted to be in Bamako. First, we are always among friends here. Second, this is the first Russian Foreign Minister's visit to Mali in the history of bilateral relations.
Today we have a great opportunity to build on the contacts that we had during your visits to Moscow and the September 2022 meeting in New York. We will discuss in detail our bilateral relations and the implementation of the agreements reached by our leaders, as well as agreements reached at regular meetings between representatives of our ministries for the economy and law enforcement agencies and agreements on military-technical cooperation.
I would like to note Russia's interest in the development of inter-parliamentary ties. State Duma Speaker Vyacheslav Volodin sent an invitation to his Malian counterpart, Malick Diaw, to visit Russia and attend the second Russia-Africa International Parliamentary Forum. The conference will take place this spring in the run-up to the meeting of the leaders of the African Union countries and Russia, scheduled for the end of July in St Petersburg. Mali's Transitional President Assimi Goïta agreed to attend this event.
We are closely expanding our partnership in various fields, including economic cooperation. We intend to build on the experience gained over decades of bilateral relations after you gained independence with Russia's support, in order to further the development of Mali's statehood and economy, and the resolution of social problems in the interests of the Malian people at the present stage. We will certainly continue to implement our existing plans, including the supply of much-needed energy resources, food, fertilisers, and other goods.
We support each other in the United Nations. Russia and Mali are members of the Group of Friends in Defence of the UN Charter. The Group is expanding, but we constantly emphasise that its activities are not directed against anyone. Its sole purpose is to uphold the need to respect the principles of the UN Charter, first and foremost the principle of the sovereign equality of states. There is no need to cast around for examples showing that the US, other NATO members and the EU are grossly disregarding this principle and are not ready for an equal dialogue based on this key provision from the UN Charter. These states are also constantly trying to impose some of their "rules" and values on African and post-Soviet countries, believing that Western values have universal significance while denying everyone else their historical and ethnic identity.
We are consistently strengthening cooperation with states committed to the UN Charter. Let us uphold the enduring value of the UN Charter in all its dimensions and stand up to those who take active steps towards undermining the principles of international law.
Once again, I would like to thank you for our friendship, which helps us resolve many issues. We are ready to consolidate and expand our bilateral relations for the benefit of our nations.
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