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President of Russia Vladimir Putin: Mr President,

esteemed colleagues,

It is a pleasure to welcome you in Russia.

We met a little more than six months ago in Sochi. Now we can talk once again within the framework of the 2018 FIFA World Cup, as part of these events.

I must say that over this period of time – a short one, but still – there have been positive changes in our relations. The trade turnover, in general, is not big yet, but the pace is very good – a twofold increase over the past year.

Sudan became a major buyer of our wheat: almost 1.5 million tonnes were purchased in the previous period.

We have very good opportunities to develop relations in a number of areas including the military-technical sphere, and this cooperation is developing.

We are happy to see you, Mr President. Welcome.

President of Sudan Omar al-Bashir (retranslated): Thank you very much, we value highly and are grateful to you for this chance to meet. It is extremely pleasant for me that during our visit to Russia for various events, we have a chance to meet in person.

Let me congratulate you on the successful World Cup, which is taking place in your country, and let me assure you that this is the best World Cup in history.

Vladimir Putin: Thank you.

Omar al-Bashir: This is why, in your person, I would like to congratulate the entire Russian people and your colleagues.

Let me also congratulate you and all the Russian people on your re-election to the post of President of the Russian Federation.

And as you correctly said, Mr President, after our last meeting in Sochi, our relations really demonstrated a positive dynamic.

As for the economic sphere, we are developing a programme to share information and opinions on how we can develop these relations.

Russian companies, including those producing mineral resources, actively work in Sudan. There will also be a meeting devoted to the agricultural sphere in September.

We hope that work to start tourist exchanges will kick off soon. We also encourage the participation of Russian oil and gas companies, so that they would work in our country.

Of course, there are positive shifts in the military-technical sphere and in military cooperation. We see big exchanges between specialists of Russia and Sudan. A big number of Russian specialists work in our country and this is why we highly praise the role that your country plays in preparing Sudanese military personnel. I would like to thank and express gratitude for the experience Russia shares with our country in this sphere – military-technical and military.

As for the political field, we highly praise the dialogue taking shape between our officials and the position that Russia holds on the international arena. I am referring to the position of your country as opposed to the position of London at the UN Security Council regarding the withdrawal of forces of the UNAMID mission.

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