MOSCOW, July 16. /TASS/. Moscow is ready to boost relations with Guinea-Bissau to contribute to the country’s development and strengthen its position in a multipolar world, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said as he opened talks with the West African nation’s top diplomat, Fatumata Djau.
"Our relations are based on good traditions rooted in the period of the Bissau people’s heroic struggle for independence. We take pride in the fact that our country provided you with all possible assistance," Lavrov noted.
Guinea-Bissau, a former Portuguese colony, declared independence in 1973.
According to Lavrov, "the goal today is to continue boosting relations in a new era, building on this solid foundation, which would contribute to Guinea-Bissau’s development and strengthen African countries’ positions in the emerging multipolar world order."
The Russian foreign minister pointed out that this was not Fatumata Djau’s first visit to Russia and that she has "vast expertise in considering the prospects for trade, economic and humanitarian ties, as well as cooperation on the international stage" between the two countries. Lavrov expressed hope that today’s talks would help "work out prospects in these fields," with the parties holding "an interested, substantive and fruitful conversation."