Madar (Bamako) - Mali's transitional president, Gen. Assimi Goita, received the director general of Russian truckmaker KAMAZ, Vasily Tsyganov, in Moscow on Tuesday, 27 October 2026, on the eve of the third Russia-Africa summit, according to a Malian presidency statement published by Malijet.
According to the statement, the meeting follows the signing on 7 October of a contract between KAMAZ and Mali's state transport and logistics company (ESMTL) for the supply of 350 vehicles worth more than 30 billion CFA francs.
Tsyganov said he reviewed progress on the contract with the head of state, adding that the partnership goes beyond supplying vehicles and includes training future drivers, mechanics and engineers for ESMTL. The Russian group plans to build a maintenance centre and, eventually, an assembly plant in Mali.
Transport and Infrastructure Minister Madina Sissoko Dembele said both sides are working to stick to the agreed roadmap, highlighting KAMAZ's wish to make Mali its hub in West Africa.
The Minister of State for Economy and Finance, the ministers of foreign affairs, mines, and industry and trade, and ESMTL's director general attended the meeting. According to the presidency, ESMTL is meant to give the country a "sovereign" transport and logistics tool and lay the foundations for gradual industrialisation of the sector.
