Abidat Magomedova, Deputy Director of the Department for International Cooperation and Climate Change at the Russian Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, announced that memorandums regarding the use of subsoil resources are currently being negotiated with several African nations through diplomatic channels.
“We continue to work on the formation of the necessary regulatory framework for cooperation, as well as to work out the prospects of this cooperation within the existing bilateral mechanisms of cooperation,” Magomedova told a round table of the council of experts on the development and support of the comprehensive partnership with African countries in the State Duma, the lower house of the Russian parliament.
Magomedova highlighted key areas of cooperation in geology and subsoil management, which primarily focus on creating specialized maps, developing unified geological data systems, and conducting mineral deposit forecasting and exploration.
“A number of African countries should be considered as potential partners for cooperation in the mining sector. Especially for those types of minerals that are strategic for Russia, such as lithium, tantalum, uranium, aluminum, manganese, gold,” the ministry’s representative said.
She further emphasized the role of Russian companies in geological exploration and the development of potential resource sites in Africa.
Magomedova noted that legal frameworks and operational mechanisms have already been established in countries such as Algeria, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Angola, Guinea, Sudan, and South Africa. Additionally, memorandums of understanding on subsoil use are being worked out with Ghana, Benin, Eritrea, the Central African Republic, and Guinea-Bissau through diplomatic efforts.
