CAPE TOWN, South Africa — Russian businesses are set to invest billions of dollars in South Africa, President Vladimir Putin said Wednesday, as top corporate leaders signed agreements in the mining, diamond and banking fields.

Putin and his South African host, Thabo Mbeki, said the deals heralded a new era of economic cooperation in sectors ranging from space research to nuclear technology and would cement a deep political friendship dating back to the days of the anti-apartheid struggle.

"It is clear that political relations have moved far ahead of economic relations," Mbeki said. "The South African business community and the Russian business community for a long time had no connection."

The former Soviet Union was the most influential supporter of the South African anti-apartheid movement, providing exile, education and military training for many of the country's current leadership.

But after the collapse of the Soviet Union, the country became engrossed in its internal upheavals and painful transition to a market economy, and watched from the sidelines as China established itself as a major player in Africa.

Putin, who brought dozens of Russian business leaders with him on the first visit to South Africa by a Russian leader, said that was about to change. Putin said Russia hoped to boost supplies and technology for South African nuclear power plants said he was hopeful for more investments in oil, natural gas and electricity.

The head of Russian minerals and metals conglomerate Renova signed agreements for a manganese mine in the Kalahari desert, while the heads of South Africa's De Beers and Russia's Alrosa _ the biggest and second biggest diamond producers in the world _ signed an agreement paving the way for joint diamond prospecting in Russia and potentially other regions of the world, including Africa.

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