Guinean President Umaro Sissoco Embaló today assured his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, that his country can count on Guinea-Bissau “as a permanent ally”.
Sissoco Embaló is in Russia as a guest to attend the Victory Day celebrations, celebrated today.
Embaló’s statements, at a press conference with Putin, were made available by the Guinean presidency.
“Russia can count on Guinea-Bissau as a permanent ally, that will never change”, stated the Guinean President.
Umaro Sissoco Embaló thanked Putin for “all the support” that Guinea-Bissau received from the former Soviet Union, during the armed struggle for independence, and highlighted that this contribution is most visible in the Armed Forces.
“In Guinea-Bissau, more than 70% of our military personnel were trained in the former USSR to see what connection there is between us and Russia”, declared Embaló.
As an example, the Guinean President pointed to two of the elements that make up his delegation, his political advisor, Fernando Delfim da Silva, and the chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces, Biague Na Ntan.
Both, Embaló highlighted, completed their higher education in Russian academies.
The Guinean President urged Vladimir Putin to visit Guinea-Bissau as soon as he makes a tour of Africa and also called on the Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Sergey Lavrov, to visit Bissau.
“We have already received everyone, but we in Guinea-Bissau only received your ambassador. Now we are waiting to receive someone at the level of the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Sergei (Lavrov) and other Russian officials”, defended Embaló.
The Guinean President noted that he had left the discussion about his country’s needs and the partnerships that could be developed between Guinea-Bissau and Russia until the closed-door meeting with Putin.
