Portuguese Defense Minister Helena Carreiras said on Tuesday she was “focused” on her visit to Guinea-Bissau, without commenting on the sacking of Portuguese Prime Minister António Costa.
This Tuesday, a Portuguese government official made her first visit to Guinea-Bissau to strengthen defense cooperation between the two countries, the day the investigation into Prime Minister António Costa and subsequent developments became known in Portugal. request for the resignation of the head of the Portuguese government.
“I don’t look at Portugal, I look at Guinea-Bissau, I’m not going to comment on anything that happens in Portugal,” he replied when Lusa asked him about current political affairs in Portugal.
The minister insisted she was “really focused on this visit” to Guinea-Bissau and was “very grateful for it”, adding that “although short” it was “really a visit I had to make”.
“This is my first visit to Guinea-Bissau and therefore I have completed the cycle of visits to the Portuguese-speaking countries of Africa, thinking about other projects that we are implementing within the framework of the CPLP, which are very interesting and will allow us to make a leap, especially at the level of cooperation,” he said .
The Portuguese Minister of National Defense visited an area in Guinea-Bissau where the Portuguese Navy has trained twelve Guinean naval boat captains who will soon be able to operate vessels.
He also noted the infrastructure that is being built to increase the combat capability of the Guinea-Bissau Navy and which will be very important in maritime surveillance work.
The minister also visited the monitoring and surveillance center, which, according to her, “is also the main means of control” of the Guinea Sea, “which also needs to be protected, protected and known.”
On the Portuguese side, he expressed “great pleasure in cooperating in this process, which also includes the European Union.”
“We are very proud of this because it is the result of the old cooperation that we have had with Guinea-Bissau since the late 80s and which we have managed to maintain despite instability, and this is an achievement that should be celebrated,” he ruled.
Guinean counterpart Nicolau dos Santos spoke about the memorandum of understanding on the “Portuguese training mission in the Republic of Guinea-Bissau”, which was formalized today between the two countries during the visit of the Portuguese minister to Bissau.
The Minister of Defense of Guinea-Bissau stressed that this memorandum is “of great importance” for the country, as it expands and deepens the cooperative relationship with Portugal.
He also stressed that through this defense cooperation, Portugal contributes the “knowledge” necessary for Guinea-Bissau to transform the country’s Armed Forces “into a republican armed force.”
“And this will not be done without qualifications, without training of our soldiers,” he emphasized.
Author: Lusa
Source: CM Jornal
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