Guatemala City.- Sergey Viktorovich Lavrov, Foreign Minister of Russia is on his first official visit to Guatemala. He will meet with Guatemalan President Alvaro Colom, Foreign Minister Haroldo Rodas, the chairman of the National Congress of Guatemala and the mayor of Guatemala City, ex-president Alvaro Arzu, who will present the keys from the city and a diploma of honorary citizen to the Russian foreign minister.
The Ministry of Foreign Relations of the Russian Federation provided the folowing press release to the press regarding the visit of the Russian Foreign Minister to Guatemala.
In an interview with RIA Novosti on February 12th, the Russian MFA Spokesman Andrei Nesterenko commented on the Upcoming Visit by Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs Sergey Lavrov to Guatemala.
Question: As part of the Foreign Minister's tour of a number of Latin American countries, Sergey Lavrov will pay a visit to the Republic of Guatemala. How can you describe bilateral ties between Russia and Guatemala, in particular, their political component, at this stage?
Answer: The Russian minister will pay an official visit to the Republic of Guatemala on February 15 - the first by a head of the Russian foreign affairs agency to that Central American republic.
In recent years, Russian-Guatemalan contacts at various levels have been characterized by a growing dynamism and intensiveness.
In July 2007, in conjunction with participation in the meeting in Guatemala City of the 119th Session of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), at which Sochi was chosen as the capital of the XXII Winter Olympic Games in 2014, Vladimir Putin made a working visit to Guatemala. His meeting with then-President Oscar Berger contributed to bringing Russian-Guatemalan relations to a higher level and the development of ties in certain areas.
Also in 2007, our embassy was opened in Guatemala, which had until recently remained one of the few Latin American countries where Russia had no permanent representation at ambassadorial level.
Inter-foreign ministry political consultations between Deputy Foreign Ministers and between directors of relevant departments are regularly conducted, along with inter-agency contacts.
Political dialogue between our countries is being intensified. The positions of Russia and Guatemala on the main issues and problems of the world agenda in many respects are similar or identical. Both countries advocate the creation of a democratic multipolar world order, respect for the principles of international law, sovereignty and consideration of the legitimate interests of all countries, and a stronger role for the UN as a universal mechanism for preserving peace and strategic stability.
Question: What main questions will be discussed at the meeting between the minister and his Guatemalan counterpart?
Answer: During the conversation of Sergey Lavrov with his Guatemalan counterpart, Haroldo Rodas, it is planned to discuss prospects of enhancing bilateral cooperation in various fields, from trade-and-economic to humanitarian, and to exchange views on a wide range of international and regional issues.
Question: How is the legal framework for cooperation between our two countries being developed?
Answer: Within the framework of the active work being conducted to develop the legal framework for relations, heads of the Foreign Ministries Lavrov and Rodas will sign an Intergovernmental Agreement on cooperation in fighting against illicit traffic in and use of narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances. At the present time intensive work is continuing on a number of other draft documents encompassing the most diverse fields of bilateral collaboration.
Background information.
Sergey Lavrov graduated from the Moscow State Institute of International relations, (MGIMO) in 1972. He was sent as a Soviet diplomat to Sri- Lanka, where he worked until 1976. He then returned to Moscow and worked in the Department of International Organizations of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. In 1981, he was sent as a senior adviser to the Soviet mission at the UN in New York, and worked there until 1988. He worked for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs until 1994, when he returned to work in the UN, this time as the Permanent Representative of Russia, While in the latter position, he was President of the United Nations Security Council in December 1995, June 1997, July 1998, October 1999, December 2000, April 2002, and June 2003. On 9 March 2004, President Vladimir Putin appointed Lavrov to the post of Minister for Foreign Affairs. He succeeded Igor Ivanov in the post.
Lavrov is regarded as continuing the style of his predecessor: a brilliant diplomat but a civil servant rather than a politician, Russia's foreign policy being largely determined by the President of the Russian Federation. Dr Bobo Lo, a Russian foreign policy expert at London's Chatham House has described him as "a tough, reliable, extremely sophisticated negotiator", but adding that "he's not part of Putin´s inner sanctum" and that the toughening of Russian foreign policy has got very little to do with him.
Source: Ministry of Foreign Relations of the Russian Federation, Ministry of Foreign Relations of Guatemala, ITAR-TASS, Wikipedia
