Guinea-Bissau: Sissoco Embaló and Putin meet in Moscow this Wednesday

The President of Guinea-Bissau, Umaro Sissoco Embaló, will meet with Vladimir Putin this Wednesday in Moscow.

According to the Kremlin press office, the agenda of the two leaders will include discussions on the prospects for developing cooperation between Russia and Guinea-Bissau in various areas, among other current issues on the international and regional agendas.

The state visit, which was confirmed to Jornal Económico (JE) by Sissoco Embaló's office, takes place less than a year after the President of Guinea-Bissau's last trip to the Russian capital, as part of the Victory Day celebrations in May, at the invitation of his counterpart.

At the end of January this year, the two leaders discussed, in a telephone conversation, issues relating to the expansion of bilateral cooperation in the commercial, economic, investment and humanitarian fields, during which they agreed to continue the talks during the state visit that is now taking place.

The Head of State of Guinea-Bissau also visited Russia in 2022 and 2023, on the occasion of the Russia-Africa summit, which took place in Saint Petersburg. At that time, Embaló declared himself a “permanent ally” of Russia, assuming the objective of “maximizing the potential” of relations between the two countries.

Umaro Sissoco Embaló's trip to Moscow takes place in the midst of a high-level mission by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) to Bissau, mandated to mediate the political situation in the country and the impasse surrounding the electoral calendar.

On Sunday, the Guinean Head of State announced the date of November 30 for the general, presidential and legislative elections.

“People are making propaganda about the arrival of the ECOWAS mission. It is merely a contact mission. I am the one who authorized its arrival. ECOWAS does not rule in Guinea-Bissau or in any other country” in the community, Sissoco Embaló argued on Monday.