First tour of the African Diplomatic Corps Ambassadors to the Space Museum

9 April, Moscow - On the eve of Astronautics Day the Association for Economic Cooperation with African States (AECAS) and the NGO "Moscow and Muscovites" supported by the Moscow City Department of Culture conducted the first tour to the Cosmonautics Museum for the Ambassadors of the African Corps accredited in Moscow.

Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Tunisia Hon. Tarak Ben Salem with his wife, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Senegal Hon. Abdou Salam Diallo, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Namibia Hon. Clemens Handuukeme Kashuupulwa with his family, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Islamic Republic of Mauritania Hon. Mohamed Mahmoud Dahi and his family participated in the tour, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Benin Hon. Akambi Andre Okounlola Biaou, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Burkina Faso Hon. Antoine Somda, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Ghana Mrs. Lesley Akua Akyaa Opoku-Ware, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Mauritius Hon. Kheswar Jankee, Embassy First Counselor of the Republic of Chad Ahmat Moussa Charimi and persons accompanying them.

In the Museum of Cosmonautics in the stylobate of the monument "Conquerors of Space" in the Cosmonauts Alley of VDNKh the distinguished guests learnt about the beginning of the Soviet astronautics and among numerous interesting exhibits they saw examples of space-rocket hardware, personal belongings of cosmonauts and designers, archive documents and objects of numismatics and philately. At the end of the fascinating and rich excursion the deputy director on scientific work, Klimentov Vyacheslav prepared a surprise for the distinguished guests: they were to meet Sergei Kud-Sverchkov, the 124th Russian cosmonaut-tester, member of the Cosmonaut Corps of the State Corporation "Roscosmos".

The Russian cosmonaut talked and showed an interesting mini-movie about life on the International Space Station orbital complex, his work in outer space, friendship, absence of borders, our beautiful planet and the importance of preserving our fragile common home.

The tour was the first in a series of tours for African Corps Ambassadors which will take place on a regular weekly basis on Saturdays. Ahead of the distinguished guests awaits an unforgettable program "How foreign guests were welcomed in Russia" at the Museum-estate Kolomenskoye, Kremlin Museums, Cathedral of Christ the Saviour and the Victory Museum, Tsaritsyno Estate Museum and State Historical Museum, and many other attractions of the capital and its surroundings.

The organisers also plan to hold roadshows in Russia's regions: Nizhny Novgorod, the Republic of Tatarstan, Tula, Krasnodar and many others.