MOSCOW, August 11 /TASS/. Russia has called on the Guinean authorities to protect the interests of Russian aluminum producer RUSAL that have come under threat from dishonest rivals, the Russian Foreign Ministry said on Tuesday.
"Moscow has expressed its concern with the recent incident in the Guinean port of Conakry where a railway track, which makes part of transport infrastructure of the RUSAL-owned Friguia bauxite-alumina production complex, has been taken up. This fact has put the process of the enterprise’s restoration approved by the Guinean government under threat," the Russian Foreign Ministry said.
"We are calling [on the Guinean authorities] to put an end to the destructive actions by dishonest rivals that are damaging the Russian-Guinean trade and economic interaction. We expect the Guinean authorities to take urgent and exhaustive measures to observe the legal interests of Russia’s biggest investor in Guinea’s national economy on the basis of existing agreements between RUSAL and the Guinean government," the ministry said.
The Russian Foreign Ministry said that the measures mentioned above would have matched the norms of international law and Guinea’s commitments to international financial institutions. "We are convinced that traditionally friendly Russian-Guinean relations and Russia’s all-round support, including social and humanitarian support for the Guinean state and people, are the backlog for building long-term constructive and mutually beneficial partnership between RUSAL and the Guinean side," the Russian Foreign Ministry stressed.
RUSAL privatized the Friguia production complex, which it had managed since 2002, in 2006. It includes a bauxite mine, an alumina refinery and a 160-kilometre railway network, which facilitates shipments of products, raw materials and fuel.
The Friguia production complex is one of the largest employers in Guinea.