Congolese Foreign Minister Jean-Claude Gakosso told Sputnik on Tuesday that the government of the RDC is finalizing the last stages to sign an agreement with Russia over the construction of a pipeline for the transportation of oil products.

The partner in question is Russia's ZNGS-Prometey company.

"The Republic of the Congo is currently working on signing an intergovernmental agreement to pave the way for a convention on the construction and concession of the pipeline," Gakosso said.

Concerning the agreement, "it is about the last step before the work starts," he added.

The minister also spoke of the studies that were conducted last year within the framework of expanding bilateral cooperation in other fields.

He further made mention of the agreement between Russia’s oil company Lukoil and the Congolese oil company SNPC in March 2022.

"It should be noted that Russia considered the option of partial write-off of Congo's debts - up to 70%, the rest could be used to finance development projects under general agreements," Gakosso said when asked about the benefits of cooperation with Russia in energy and mining projects.

The project proposal was first brought up in September 2022 during the sixth Russia-Congo Intergovernmental Trade and Economic Commission. Both sides saw it necessary to sign an agreement on the initiative. 

In March 2023, Russian Ambassador to the Republic of Congo Georgy Chepik announced that Russia’s ZNGS-Prometey company would be willing to partake in the project.

Read more: Russia says committed to 'Africa's food, energy security'

Russia has recently concluded a summit in St. Petersburg which was attended by 49 delegations from different African states. 

Russian President Vladimir Putin announced during the Russia-Africa summit that his country will provide approximately $90 million in debt relief to African nations.

"Russia is taking part in debt relief efforts for African countries. At the moment, we have written off a total of $23 billion in debt. On recent requests of African countries, we will allocate over $90 million more for these development purposes," Putin said at the Russia-Africa summit.

This is part of Russia's ongoing efforts to support the development of African countries, and it comes in addition to the $23 billion debt that has already been written off. The summit, held in St. Petersburg from July 27-28, is aimed at strengthening ties between Russia and African nations.

Read more: South Africa thanks Russia for grain supplies decisions