RUSSIAN BUSINESS PRESENCE IN BURUNDI [C-CI9-01825]

C O N F I D E N T I A L BUJUMBURA 000550 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/07/2019 TAGS: PINR BBSR ECON EINV BY SUBJECT: RUSSIAN BUSINESS PRESENCE IN BURUNDI [C-CI9-01825] REF: STATE 88241 Classified By: Charge d'Affaires Charles H. Twining for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). ¶1. (C) Please see following responses to questions posed reftel: ¶A. (C) There is no Russian trade representative in Burundi. ¶B. (C) There are no major Russian companies operating in Burundi. ¶C. (C) NA; please see response to C. ¶D. (C) Russian investment in Burundi is very limited. A handful of Russian citizens are involved in the operation of hardware stores, while an equally small number of Russian doctors are working here. The Russian presence in the private sector is truly insignificant. ¶E. (C) Burundi is not specifically seeking Russian investment or tourism. However, this desperately poor nation would welcome any potential investors. ¶F. (C) Burundi's Interior Ministry either could not or would not disclose the exact number of Russians in Burundi. It is safe to estimate that the total number, including Russian Embassy staff, is less than 100. Twining