Greetings to organisers and participants of the Great African Expedition

The message reads, in part:

"Relations between Russia and African countries are on the rise which was starkly highlighted following the second Russia-Africa summit held in St Petersburg last year.

Fisheries have traditionally been an important part of bilateral economic cooperation. The Great African Expedition made possible by the Federal Agency for Fisheries will undoubtedly help ramp up joint efforts in this area.

Assessing the size of aquatic biological resources in the exclusive economic zones of African countries is what this major and truly unparalleled research project all about. The populations of commercial species of marine fauna occurring in a significant portion of these vast water areas that are part of the Atlantic Ocean and the Indian Ocean have not been studied for a long time now.

We operate on the premise that the research conducted by Russian specialists will boost the effectiveness of fishing carried out by our African partners, which, in turn, will improve Africa's food security."