"We would like Russia to build a base in CAR," Fidel Ngouandika said. "The government has already provided a plot of land in Berengo, a place 80 kilometers west of the country’s capital, Bangu".
Ngouandika said that the existing infrastructure in Berengo permits the deployment of up to 10,000 servicemen, TASS reported.
"The purpose of the Russian military presence in CAR is to train our soldiers," he said. "We are 1,000% committed to Russia and we believe that Russia should stay with us. If Russia abandons us today, we will be eaten up by Western states that have done nothing for our country since our independence."
This African official made the statement when Russia's influence and relations in Africa have expanded even more in the past year and the African countries are increasingly strengthening their cooperation with Moscow and cutting off their relations with Western countries that colonized them in the past.
St. Petersburg hosted the Second Summit and Russia–Africa Economic and Humanitarian Forum on 27–28 July 2023 which marked the second time that events of such a magnitude with a focus on a wide range of relations between Russia and the countries of the African continent have been held.
Despite unprecedented pressure from the West, the Forum and Summit were attended by official delegations from 48 countries (27 countries were represented by the head of state or the second-highest official) and the five largest integration organizations of the continent.
During the discussions, the participants declared their commitment to jointly building a new, fairer multipolar architecture of the world order based on the sovereign equality of states and mutually beneficial cooperation.
SD/PR