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President of Russia Vladimir Putin: Mr First President, friends,

I would like to extend a most cordial welcome to you in Moscow.

This is not our first meeting, but I would nevertheless underscore that this year marks the 65^th anniversary of the establishment of our diplomatic relations. It is a curious fact that, throughout this period, we have not had embassies – yet now, at last, we have reached an agreement to open embassies in both countries next year.

Despite the absence of embassies, our trade and economic ties have, on the whole, developed and are progressing at a commendable pace. Naturally, the volume of trade remains modest for our countries, yet the trend is positive. It is my sincere hope that, following the establishment of embassies and the commencement of the intergovernmental commission’s work, we – on both sides – will be able to do all that is necessary not only to maintain this trajectory, but also to accelerate it.

With regard to cultural relations, these are currently centred primarily on education, which we consider to be a vitally important area. Several hundred of your citizens are studying in Russia, with over 80 on our state-funded programmes, and this is a fact we are very pleased about. These are talented young people, and I am confident they will make a significant contribution to the development of their homeland in the future.

Mr First President, once again, I extend a warm welcome to you in Russia.

Welcome!

First President of the Council of Ministers of Togo Faure Gnassingbé (retranslated): Thank you, Mr President.

On behalf of my delegation accompanying me today, I would like to thank you for the invitation to visit Moscow. I also want to thank you for the warm and hospitable welcome extended to us upon our arrival in your country.

Yes, as you have mentioned, diplomatic missions have long been closed in our countries, but now we are entering a new epoch in our relations owing to the opening of diplomatic missions. We have key sectors in which we cooperate and which enable us to strengthen our relations.

We have several priorities and an area that plays a key role. I am referring to education, as you rightly noted. Many Togolese students are being educated in Russia, which is currently a fine way to make an important contribution to the development of our relationship and of my country. I think that the opening of embassies will allow us to enhance our cooperation in this sphere.

Another area is fighting terrorism and ensuring security. I would like to thank you for what you are doing to help the Alliance of Sahel States – Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger – in their anti-terrorism struggle. This is also of extreme importance for us, because we are vulnerable and exposed to attacks from terrorists operating in the provinces of the countries I have mentioned.

The whole of West Africa is affected by the terrorist threat, and I would like to take this opportunity to thank you once again for the support you are rendering to African countries.

Vladimir Putin: We will now talk about this.

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