Gil arrived Monday in Malabo, Guinea’s capital city, escorted by Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs for Africa, Yuri Pimentel, and proceeded to meet Vice President of Equatorial Guinea, Teodoro Nguema Obiang, to whom he conveyed greetings from President Nicolás Maduro.

Previously, both governments had advanced in drafting what they called “an ambitious working agenda for the Second Joint Commission”. The roadmap “will allow significant steps towards greater cooperation in various areas,” reported the Bolivarian Minister for Foreign Affairs.

This agenda includes culture, tourism, gender equality, human rights, transportation, oil, university education and diplomacy, among others.

Venezuela’s top diplomat conveyed Maduro’s words considering the meeting “an invaluable opportunity to strengthen development and friendship between our peoples, envisioning great results on the path to a shared future.”

During his stay in Malabo, Gil also met with his counterpart Simeón Oyono Esono Angue, to discuss bilateral topics.

They also explored “possible agreements for mutually beneficial cooperation that we hope to finalize in the 2nd Joint Commission,” Gil explained.

Caracas and Malabo established diplomatic relations on May 7, 1981. In 2006 the embassy of the South American country was inaugurated in this African nation.

The Venezuelan Ministry of Foreign Affairs acknowledged in April last year that relations between Venezuela and Equatorial Guinea entail a strategic nature, against the backdrop of growing South-South cooperation, which has led them to sign different accords.

Both countries advocate self-determination of peoples, at such spaces as the Non-Aligned Movement and the Group of Friends in Defense of the United Nations Charter.

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