An agreement has been reached between the Russian Federation and South Africa to supply the latter with nuclear fuel up to 2010, visiting Russian president Vladimir Putin told a media conference at Tuynhuys on Tuesday.
Flanked by South African President Thabo Mbeki, he told journalists that a Russian company is planning to invest $1-billion in production of manganese in this country. Putin also said Russian companies are interested in contributing to power-generation capacity and in an aluminium-smelter project.
Putin emphasised that he is not in the country simply for “political tourism”, but to strengthen the business relationship between the two countries.
The Russian president, who was to meet business leaders including De Beers’s Nicky Oppenheimer later on Tuesday, said his country is also looking at the “possible supplies” of liquefied natural gas to South Africa.
Noting that trade relations with their traditional European partners run into billions of dollars each year, the prospects for raising South African/Russian trade are high as they stand at only about $200-million a year.
Putin, who is accompanied by a large business delegation as well as Cabinet leaders from his country, said the Russian Federation is interested in long-term projects connected with the extraction of metals and metal ores.
The visiting president did not refer to a particular location of the aluminium project, but it is understood that he was referring to the planned project at Coega industrial development zone in the Eastern Cape.
‘Things in outer space’
Mbeki, meanwhile, said that an agreement signed on cooperation with space technology will see the countries launching “micro satellites” in December this year using Russian Federation rockets, “so we are going to have things in outer space … which help us to catch up with the rest of the world”.
Noting that South Africa’s Minister of Health, Manto Tshabalala-Msimang, received training in Leningrad — now St Petersburg — Mbeki said Russia will assist South Africa in areas of medical research and the training of medical personnel in that country.
Putin said that 10 to 15 years ago, the Russian economy was “in transition to market principles” and it was not ready for fully-fledged cooperation with its economic partners. Speaking through a translator, he said: “Now the situation has changed dramatically,” noting that in the first six months of this year the economy of his country had growth of about 7,4%.
It has grown by about 7% for the past three or four years.
He said the gold and forex reserves of his central bank are growing “so fast” that he can hardly keep track of the figures himself. Reserves now total about $300-billion, he said.
The Russian Federation also enjoys a twin surplus — on its trade and budget accounts.
Putin noted that De Beers has been involved in the Russian Federation for some time and will continue to be involved with a Russian partner in projects in that country.
The two presidents signed a treaty on friendship and partnership. — I-Net Bridge