Windhoek - Russian President Dmitry Medvedev departed Namibia Friday for its oil-producing neighbour to the north, Angola, in the last leg of his four-country tour of Africa aimed at boosting Russian ties with the continent.

Medvedev left Namibia Friday morning for Angola's capital Luanda, where he was scheduled to meet with longtime President Eduardo dos Santos, Prime Minister Antonio Paulo Kassoma and other officials.

Medvedev's whirlwind four-day tour already took him to Egypt and Nigeria earlier in the week. He is due to return home from the former Portugese colony, which edged out Nigeria as the continent's largest oil producer in 2008, on Friday evening.

His visit, the first by a Russian president in three years, is seen as an attempt to boost Russia's influence on the continent.

Russia was a key backer of Namibia's and other leftist African liberation movements during the Cold War but has since lost clout in Africa to China, which is leading a fresh scramble for oil and minerals.

During his visit, Medvedev signed a 10-year strategic cooperation pact with President Hosni Mubarak, with the two leaders vowing to coordinate foreign policy positions.

In Nigeria, the continent's largest oil producer, business dominated the agenda with the two countries signing agreements giving Russia access to a part of Nigeria's gas deposits in return for investment in infrastructure, including a proposed gas pipeline to Europe.

Russia also obtained the green light to tender for the construction of nuclear power plants in Nigeria.

"We will foster our partnership with the African continent as a whole," Medvedev said in the uranium-rich southern state of Namibia, the third stop on the trip.

A communique issued Friday, a day after his talks with Namibian President Hifikepunye Pohamba, said they had agreed on increased Russian investment in "new large-scale projects in the Namibian economy, in particular in mining, oil exploration and energy."

Russia is believed to be particularly interested in Namibia's abundant deposits of uranium, used in the production of nuclear fuel. Russia has announced plans to reduce its share of natural-gas powered electricity supply and double the share of nuclear energy by 2020.

Russian companies are also involved in oil and gas exploration off Namibia's coast.

During his visit Medvedev has also pledged support for Africa in tackling humanitarian issues, including food insecurity, and insecurity and rooted for reform of the United Nations to give the developing world a greater say. (dpa)