ST. PETERSBURG (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 29th July, 2023) The potential for trade cooperation between Russia and Guinea-Bissau is "great," Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Saturday, adding that there were business prospects in energy and mining in particular.
"We have a great potential, it has not yet been fully revealed, let us talk about possible measures to improve trade indicators. We see prospects in such areas as geological exploration, mineral resources development, infrastructure development, energy and agriculture," Putin said at a meeting with President of Guinea-Bissau Umaro Sissoco Embalo.
The Russian leader also announced the decision to raise the quota for students from Guinea-Bissau to 75, noting that scholarship quotas for the African countries had increased two-fold over the past five years.
Embalo, for his par, expressed a desire that Russian oil giant Lukoil participate more actively in the oil sector of Guinea-Bissau, noting that the company was already carrying out mineral deposits exploration in the country.
He also stressed the especially friendly nature of relations between the two nations, calling them not just friends, but "brothers," and said that Russia could count on Guinea-Bissau as a "reliable partner."
Putin is holding a final series of meetings with African leaders who traveled to St. Petersburg for the Second Russia-Africa Summit and Economic and Humanitarian Forum from July 27-28. Sputnik was an official media partner of the event.
