Lisbon is interested in having frequent contacts with Moscow at the level of foreign ministers and expand bilateral ties in the economic and cultural sectors, Portuguese Ambassador to Russia Paulo Vizeu Pinheiro told Sputnik
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 11th February, 2020) Lisbon is interested in having frequent contacts with Moscow at the level of foreign ministers and expand bilateral ties in the economic and cultural sectors, Portuguese Ambassador to Russia Paulo Vizeu Pinheiro told Sputnik.
"We now want to have a very frequent dialogue between the foreign ministries. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov signed a memorandum of understanding with the Portuguese foreign minister. The two foreign ministers are supposed to meet every year for consultations. That shows how close we have built our relationship. Because Portugal and Russia have a close relationship, whether politically, economically or culturally. Our societies know each other. Last year, we celebrated the 240th anniversary of diplomatic relations," Pinheiro said on the sidelines of Prodexpo in Moscow, an exhibition dedicated to the food and drink industry.
A 240th anniversary of diplomatic ties is a very rare case in relations between the states, the ambassador noted.
Pinheiro went on to say that both countries had a vision of global development. He cited an initiative proposed by Russian President Vladimir Putin for making a common space for dialogue and economic cooperation from Lisbon to Vladivostok. He praised the president's plan as making "a lot of sense," given that both countries were part of the greater Eurasian continent.
In late 2018, Lavrov visited Portugal for the first time in 10 years. He met with his Portuguese counterpart, Augusto Santos Silva, and they agreed to promote Lisbon-Moscow dialogue within NATO and the European Union, and to boost economic cooperation.
