Medvedev seeks economic ties to Africa

CAIRO, June 23 (UPI) -- Russian President Dmitry Medvedev's current four-day trip to Africa seems designed to help boost the fortunes of Russian companies, analysts say.

Medvedev left Moscow Tuesday for Cairo to visit Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, and was later to pay official calls on Nigeria, Namibia and Angola, The Moscow Times reported.

Economic rather than political matters will dominate the discussions, the newspaper said. Egypt represented only 0.3 percent of Russia's overall foreign trade in this year's first quarter, a number likely to be discussed by Medvedev, Energy Minister Sergei Shmatko and Rosatom chief Sergei Kiriyenko, who are accompanying the Russian president on the trip.

Rosatom spokesman Sergei Novikov told the Times that the state nuclear corporation is moving to ink a pact with Egypt that would allow it to bid for the right to build Cairo's first nuclear power station as well as to explore for uranium.

State gas utility Gazprom is also eyeing possible investments in Egypt and Nigeria, the newspaper said.