Portugal wants to step up defense and security cooperation with Sao Tome and Principe, Guinea-Bissau and other Portuguese-speaking countries, according to a government statement that declined to comment on the recent agreement between Sao Tome and Russia.
In a comment requested by Lusa regarding the signing of a military-technical agreement between São Tomé and Principe and Russia at the end of April, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs recalled that “Portugal maintains a multifaceted, intensive and sustainable cooperation with São Tomé and Russia.” Principe for decades Tome and Principe, like Guinea-Bissau and other Portuguese-speaking countries.”
“Defense and security are the pillars of this bilateral cooperation, which continues and will be strengthened, with particular emphasis on maritime security in the Gulf of Guinea, in which both Portugal and the European Union have moved forward with concrete support agreed with the countries of the region to cope with the challenges which they are currently facing,” the Portuguese MNE said in a note.
And he added that, as a rule, the CPLP countries do not make “public statements regarding the foreign policy actions of each of their member states.”
The agreement between Sao Tome and Principe and Russia, according to the official Russian news agency Sputnik, was signed in St. Petersburg on April 24 and began to apply on May 5, providing for training, the use of weapons and military equipment, as well as visits by Russian military personnel. planes, warships and ships on the archipelago.
According to the Russian press, the parties agreed to cooperate in the areas of joint training of troops, recruitment of armed forces, use of weapons and military equipment, logistics support, exchange of experience and information in the framework of the fight against the ideology of extremism and international terrorism, education and training.
In addition, the agreement between the two countries provides for participation in military exercises and presence as observers, visits by military aircraft, as well as visits by warships and vessels.
The announcement of the agreement coincides with Guinean President Oumaro Sissoko Embalo’s visit to Russia, who has scheduled a meeting with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin.
Author: Lusa
Source: CM Jornal
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