Tunis/Tunisia — Prime Minister Hichem Mechichi and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov agreed at phone call Wednesday to speed up the delivery of COVID-19 vaccines «Sputnik V.»

The two sides also discussed ways to expand the Tunisian-Russian relations to serve the interests of both countries, the Prime Ministry said in a statement.

They also agreed on increasing efforts for fruitful cooperation in combating coronavirus.

The Russian Foreign Minister affirmed the need to beef up economic cooperation between the two countries. Russia intends to increase the number of tourists to Tunisia from this summer onwards, the Russian Minister indicated.

For his part, Mechichi commended the strong relations between Tunisia and Russia in various fields, expressing the wish to develop them.

He also stressed the imperative to find a solution to the situation of Tunisian students enrolled at Russian universities, who have been unable to return to Russia due to the spread of the coronavirus.