We can count on you: Zuma tells Putin
July 15, 2014, 6:29 am

Russian President Vladimir Putin with his South African counterpart Jacob Zuma in Fortaleza, Brazil on 15 July 2014 [PPIO]

“We are tied by long-standing and very warm friendly relations; we can always count on Russia’s support and provide our own support in return,” said the South African President.

Putin said Moscow and Pretoria will press for stronger economic ties this year after a busy domestic policy calendar that included South African general elections.

“I am very pleased to have the chance to meet with you on the sidelines of the BRICS summit and discuss these issues. Last year, our trade grew by 11% and in the first half of this year, it increased by nearly 10%, so we are working from a good foundation,” Putin told Zuma.

“Mutual capital investments are growing, and in various industrial sectors. They include metallurgy and high technologies,” he added.

South Africa is one of Russia’s leading foreign trade partners in sub-Saharan Africa.

South Africa’s total trade with Russia increased from 5.1 billion rand (about $481 million) in 2012 to 7.5 billion rand (about $707 million) in 2013, representing a growth of 47.06 per cent.

Russia has said it is ready to contribute to the establishment of a nuclear-power sector in South Africa. South Africa is planning to build several reactors with a total capacity of 9.6 GW by 2030 and estimated cost of $40 billion. Russia has offered help with fuel and power equipment production.

Over the past few years, bilateral political dialogue between Russia and South Africa has been evolving very rapidly. Zuma visited Russia thrice last year and supported Russia’s annexation of Crimea by abstaining from the UN General Assembly resolution that sought to deem the referendum in Crimea as “illegal”. Pretoria maintained that the crisis did not start with the referendum in Crimea and that the vote was “counterproductive”.

The two leaders will now attend the 6^th BRICS Summit where they will sign into creation a $100 billion bank and a $100 billion emergency fund to aid the five nations in times of need and to challenge Western dominance over global finance.

TBP