Durban - South Africa and Russia sealed nine bilateral agreements on Tuesday ahead of the Fifth Brics Summit being held in Durban.
The nine agreements signed in Durban were in the fields of agriculture, arts and culture, education, energy, fisheries, mining, science and technology and transport.
President Jacob Zuma hailed the agreements as a major achievement.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said the quota of South Africans attending Russian universities would be increased.
Zuma and Putin signed the “Declaration of Strategic Partnership between South Africa and the Russian Federation”.
“This establishes a presidential bilateral mechanism and defines programme areas that will guide the South African-Russian strategic partnership,” said Zuma.
He also exchanged views with Putin on the unfolding crisis in Syria.
He said a highlight of Putin's visit was the launch of a helicopter maintenance centre by Denel and Russian Helicopters, which would repair and maintain Russian helicopters in Africa.
Putin said there were already huge investments by Russian companies in South Africa.
The other agreements were signed by the various ministers and senior officials of the two nations.
Brics is an acronym for the group of developing nations which includes Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa.
The Fifth Brics Summit will be held on Wednesday. - Sapa