President Jacob Zuma touched
down in Russia last week to
meet with his counterpart,
Vladimir Putin, to strengthen
trade relations between the
two Brics members.
During the short visit,
the two presidents reviewed
bilateral relations and
exchanged views on critical
regional and global issues.
This follows the visit to South
Africa in March by Putin
where the two countries sealed
eight agreements in the fields
of education, energy, defence,
fisheries, mineral resources
and transport.
A spokesperson for the
presidency said Russian
companies already had “huge”
investments in South Africa,
with bilateral trade between
the two countries increasing
by a record 66.3% during the
2012 financial year, reaching
over R9 billion.
CAPTION
Jacob Zuma is introduced to Russian ambassador Mikhail Ivanovich Petrakov
by SA ambassador Mandisi Mpahlwa at Sochi Airport, Russia. Photo: GCIS
