Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov arrived in Nairobi Monday morning for the start of an official trip to Africa.
His visit is in a bid to rebuild relations with some of its allies amidst the ongoing war with Ukraine.
Lavrov was received by the Ministry of Foreign and Diaspora Affairs Director-General Amb George Orina and officials from the Russian embassy.
During his tour, he is expected to hold talks with top government officials.
The visit by the diplomat comes a few days after a similar tour by his Ukrainian counterpart Dmytro Kuleba to the continent.
Kuleba toured Morocco, Rwanda, Mozambique and Ethiopia as he sought to deepen the bilateral relations with the countries.
A week ago, Putin said he is looking forward to hosting African leaders for the second Russia-Africa summit to be held at St Petersburg in July.
The first conference was held in 2019.
While conveying his message of goodwill to the continent as it marked the 60th anniversary of the Organization of African Unity, Putin invited the heads of state to attend the summit.
He said Russia has always attached special importance to strengthening relations with its African partners and the meeting will “boost our ties in many areas”.
