Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Tuesday that Russia will supply South Africa with nuclear fuel up to 2010. The visiting Russian president made the statement at a news conference at Tuynhuys, Cape Town. Flanked by President Thabo Mbeki, he told journalists that a Russian company was planning to invest 1 billion U.S. dollars in production of manganese in this country.
Putin also said that Russian companies were interested in contributing to power generation capacity and were also interested in an aluminum smelter project.
Putin emphasized that he was not in the country simply for "political tourism", but to strengthen the business relationship between the two countries.
He said that his country was also looking at the "possible supplies" of liquified natural gas to South Africa.
Putin, who is accompanied by a large business delegation and with cabinet leaders from his country, said Russia was interested in the long-term projects connected with the extraction of metals and metal ores.
Mbeki meanwhile said that an agreement signed connected to cooperation with space technology would see the country 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".
Mbeki said that Russia would assist South Africa in areas of medical research and the training of medical personnel in that country.
Source: Xinhua News Agency
