Moscow to open embassies in Niger, Sierra Leone and South Sudan

Russia plans to open its diplomatic missions in Niger, Sierra Leone and South Sudan in the near future. This was announced by Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova on January 23.

She noted that the Russian embassies in Burkina Faso and Equatorial Guinea started their work in 2023. The embassies in Niger and Sierra Leone, where diplomatic work will be resumed after its termination in 1992 for financial reasons, should start working next, Zakharova specified.

"We are also talking about the establishment of a new diplomatic mission in the Republic of South Sudan. The corresponding orders of the Russian government were issued at the end of December 2024. And the official opening of the mentioned diplomatic missions is planned in the near future," the Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman pointed out at the briefing.

The diplomat emphasized that the opening of Russian embassies in the countries of the African continent corresponds to the common desire to bring multifaceted cooperation to a qualitatively new level.

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Earlier, on January 14, Anatoly Bashkin, director of the Russian Foreign Ministry's Africa Department, told Izvestia that the Russian Federation plans to further expand its diplomatic presence in Africa. He noted that in Niamey (Niger) and Freetown (Sierra Leone) it is a question of resuming the activities of representative offices. And the embassy in South Sudan will be established from scratch: there have never been any Russian diplomats permanently working in this country because South Sudan gained independence only in 2011, he specified.

In November 2024, at the Russia-Africa Partnership Forum, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov signed an agreement on mutual abolition of visas for holders of diplomatic and service passports with the Central African Republic (CAR) and Rwanda. The Russian Foreign Minister noted the bilateral aspiration of the countries to deepen political dialog and coordination in the UN actions.