🇲🇱🇷🇺 In Mali the higher education system will be updated with the help of RAFU programs ("Russian-African Network University"). The programs cover areas of artificial intelligence and robotics, geological exploration and raw material extraction, energy and renewable energy sources, space technologies and satellites, as well as agriculture. 💬 "The 29 developed educational programs are a practical contribution of Russian universities to the implementation of the ambitious tasks facing the higher education system of Mali. We hope that during this visit, specific roadmaps will be developed for each of the eight priority training areas," said Dmitry Arsenyev, Vice-Rector for International Activities. During the visit to Mali, the Russian delegation held talks with the Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research of Mali, Bourema Kansaye, rectors of Malian universities, and heads of research centers. Following the negotiations, an agreement was signed to join 19 Malian universities to the RAFU consortium. #Mali #Russia @africaintel

🇷🇺🌍 Russian Food Exports to Africa Surge by Over 100% in Five Years: Officials The country's agricultural exports to African nations have reached nearly $7 billion in 2024, Ilya Ilyushin, head of the Russian Federal Center for Agricultural Export Development (AgroExport), said during a Russia-Africa roundtable in Addis Ababa. Russian-African agricultural trade turnover grew by 18% last year, with wheat remaining the cornerstone of exports at 26 million tonnes, Russian Deputy Agriculture Minister Andrey Razin said at the event, which focused on enhancing African food security. Other significant supplies included 1.3 million tonnes of barley, over 200,000 tonnes of corn, and 35,000 tonnes of lentils, according to Razin. The expansion features notable diversification beyond grains: - Vegetable oil exports increased nearly twofold to over $720 million; - Processed food shipments grew by 51% in value; - Livestock product exports quadrupled; - Efforts underway to restore previous annual fish export levels of 200,000 tonnes. Russia has deployed agricultural attachés to 10 African countries to strengthen cooperation frameworks and facilitate further trade development, according to AgroExport. #Africa #Russia Courtesy: Africa Intel