South Africa's International Relations and Cooperation Minister Maite Nkoana-Mashabane on Sunday met with Russia's Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Sergey Donskoy in Pretoria to explore ways of enhancing cooperation in various fields.

Donskoy is in South Africa to attend a meeting of South Africa- Russia Intergovernmental Committee on Trade and Economic Cooperation (ITEC), according to the South African Government Communication and Information System (GCIS).

The ITEC is a bilateral cooperation mechanism between South Africa and Russia that meets annually in order to strengthen mutually beneficial economic, commercial and social relations as well as technical cooperation between the two countries.

The meeting presents an opportunity for the ministers to follow- up on decisions taken during the 11th ITEC meeting held in Moscow in November last year.

The ministers are also expected to finalise priority projects and agreements that will be concluded during President Vladimir Putin's official visit to South Africa in March.

The agreements under consideration are in the fields of agriculture, education, energy, fisheries, justice, minerals resources, science and technology, and transport.

Donskoy's visit came as Russia is showing growing interest in the continent's mining industry. Russian mining companies will take part in this year's Investing in African Mining Indaba (conference) scheduled for Feb. 4 to Feb. 7 in Cape Town, organizers said.