- Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi will visit Russia for the first time since 1985 on Friday, to deepen relations on energy and military partnership with Moscow, local media said.
"At the invitation of the Russian president, leader of the Libyan Revolution Moamer Gaddafi will come to Russia for an official visit from October 31 to November 2," Kremlin said in a statement.
Russia's Nezavisimaya Gazeta daily said Mr Gaddafi's visit is the latest step in a bold push by former outcast state to accelerate overseas trade and investment for its booming post-sanctions economy.
Libya has seen a foreign investment rush since 2003, when UN Security Council lifted more than a decade of sanctions imposed for what West called Libyan support of terrorism.
Libya, which during Cold War bought many of its weapons from Moscow, is seeking fighter planes, tanks and air defence systems as well as spare parts for arms it already owns, the paper said, citing unnamed Russian officials.
Mr Gaddafi is expected to meet president Dmitry Medvedev six months after welcoming his predecessor and current Prime Minister Vladimir Putin on the first visit by a Kremlin leader.
In April, during a visit to Tripoli by then-president Vladimir Putin, Moscow agreed to cancel billions of dollars of Libyan Soviet-era debt in exchange for multi-billion-dollar contracts with Russian companies.
During his visit, Russian gas giant Gazprom signed a cooperation agreement with Libya's national energy company while Russia's rail monopoly signed a 2.2-billion-euro contract to build a railway line in Libya.
Russia's Interfax news agency said Libya might agree to buy more than 1.6 billion euro worth of Russian weapons during the visit.
afrol News - It is called "financial inclusion", and it is a key government policy in Rwanda. The goal is that, by 2020, 90 percent of the population is to have and actively use bank accounts. And in only four years, financial inclusion has doubled in Rwanda.
afrol News - The UN's humanitarian agencies now warn about a devastating famine in Sudan and especially in South Sudan, where the situation is said to be "imploding". Relief officials are appealing to donors to urgently fund life-saving activities in the two countries.
afrol News - Fear is spreading all over West Africa after the health ministry in Guinea confirmed the first Ebola outbreak in this part of Africa. According to official numbers, at least 86 are infected and 59 are dead as a result of this very contagious disease.
afrol News - It is already a crime being homosexual in Ethiopia, but parliament is now making sure the anti-gay laws will be applied in practical life. No pardoning of gays will be allowed in future, but activist fear this only is a signal of further repression being prepared.
afrol News / Africa Renewal - Ethiopia's ambitious plan to build a US$ 4.2 billion dam in the Benishangul-Gumuz region, 40 km from its border with Sudan, is expected to provide 6,000 megawatts of electricity, enough for its population plus some excess it can sell to neighbouring countries.
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