Relations between Niger and Russia are growing steadily in the military and humanitarian spheres. This is evidenced, among other things, by the May statement of Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov regarding preparations for opening a “full-fledged diplomatic mission” in the West African country.
The head of Niger’s ruling National Council for the Safeguard of the Homeland (CNSP), Brigadier General Abdourahamane Tiani, received “an important” high-ranking Russian delegation led by Deputy Minister of Defense of Russia, Colonel General Yunus-bek Yevkurov, according to the CNSP’s Facebook* post.
“Following the meeting, a memorandum of multisectoral cooperation between Niger and Russia was signed, demonstrating the good cooperation between the two countries,” the statement read.
The meeting was held with the participation of high representatives of the Niger government, including the Minister of State, Minister of the Interior, Public Security, and Territorial Administration Brigadier General Mohamed Toumba, the Chief of Staff of the President of the CNSP Colonel Ibroh Amadou Bacharou, and the Minister and Director of the President’s Cabinet, Soumana Boubacar.
Niger and Russia actively hold regular meetings between military representatives. Last December, the two countries signed an agreement on strengthening cooperation between the nations in the field of defense.
To further strengthen this cooperation, in March, Tiani had a lengthy telephone conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin, during which they discussed several topics of common interest and current international affairs.
*Meta and its products, Instagram and Facebook, are banned in Russia over extremist activities.