Nations on the continent are keen to cooperate with Moscow on marine research, the Russian president has said
Africa is keen on collaborating with Moscow to conduct research on fish and shellfish resources along its coastlines, Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Monday.
During a meeting with the head of the Federal Agency for Fishery, Ilya Shestakov, Putin was informed of preparations for a large African survey and noted that countries on the continent had requested a joint study on fishery resources.
“Yes, our friends asked for this and they are interested in working together,” the president said.
The Russian Federal Agency for Fishery is gearing up for a significant expedition aimed at researching fish resources in Africa, Shestakov stated. He noted that Russian researchers will host their African counterparts on voyages, and will provide them with access to all the data collected.
The expedition is scheduled to commence in the latter half of this year, Shestakov added.
In October, the director of the All-Russian Research Institute of Fisheries and Oceanography (VNIRO), Kirill Kolonchin, announced that the institute was planning to conduct two scientific expeditions in West and East African waters in the second half of 2024.
The West African expedition, set to last more than a year, will cover the coastal waters of 16 countries, from Morocco to Angola, while research in the east will operate in the waters around Madagascar.
It will be the first time in 40 years that Russian scientists from VNIRO have conducted research in African waters, Kolonchin noted. The scientific data acquired will be used to provide recommendations to coastal nations on the development of fishery policies.
