Aug 2, 2006, 11:57 GMT
Nairobi - Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez was expected in the Malian capital Bamako Wednesday to sign a series of agreements with President Ahmadou Toure.
The populist left-wing Chavez who is on a world tour that has already taken him to Russia and Vietnam, was expected to sign an energy deal to sell oil to the poverty-stricken landlocked African state in exchange for its cotton output.
Mali has long complained of punitive EU and US trade barriers that have brought the centuries-old African cotton industry to its knees.
Mali is ranked among the four least-developed countries in the world, with over 60 per cent of people living below the poverty line.
Venezuela, the world's fifth biggest oil exporter, has signed various oil deals with African states struggling with rising global oil prices.
Chavez, known for his anti-US rhetoric, was recently a guest together with Iranian president at the African Union Summit held in Gambia in June where he urged stronger links between Africa and Latin America to confront what he termed 'American dominance.'
The Venezualen leader is expected to leave Mali later today for nearby Benin.
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