Compañero Sergei Lavrov, Foreign Minister of the Russian Federation with Nicaraguan media
April 19th 2023
Good morning. I would like to express thanks for the invitation and for the warm welcome in Nicaragua, and for an interesting conversation with the President and Vice President, with the Minister of Finance and with the Coordinator of Relations with the Russian Federation, and all those who are directly involved in maintaining good relations with the Russian Federation and promoting our strategic partnership.
We discussed many issues of mutual interest, such as economic issues and also cooperation within the framework of the Intergovernmental Commission; we agreed to hold a conversation during the St. Petersburg International Forum to be held in June this year.
The two counterparts, the Minister of Finance on the Nicaraguan side and Veronika Skvortsova on the Russian side, get along very well, enjoy good relations and carry out cooperation in the field of health and of vaccine production that is very well developed here in Nicaragua.
We have a good basis for increasing our relations and taking them to a qualitatively higher level; the basis was laid during Laureano and Mr. Acosta's visit to Russia, when they had very good meetings in all areas and signed many agreements that they are going to carry out now. And at the end of March another very important Agreement was signed on the peaceful use of atomic energy. Initially, it is understood that atomic energy is not to be used for energy purposes but for the production of medicines.
We have good cooperation in the field of education and humanitarian exchanges, and there are many Nicaraguan students studying at Russian universities.
We are very pleased about the close ties between Russia's regions and Nicaragua. An Honorary Consulate was recently inaugurated in Sentiropal and the documents are being prepared to establish Sister City relations between other cities of Nicaragua and Russia. We carry out our cooperation in the field of vehicle deliveries, fertilizers, food production and transport.
The parliamentarians of our Countries also get along very well and there is cooperation at the level of political parties. An International Forum to fight colonialism was recently held at the initiative of Russia, where representatives of Nicaragua participated. The Russian State Duma has scheduled a meeting, an important event in the autumn, the Russia-Latin America Forum, where Nicaraguan parliamentarians will of course participate.
We greatly appreciate the support of the Nicaraguan side in the promotion of our relations with Latin American Integration Organizations, especially CELAC and SICA. All this helps to create in Latin America a powerful center and a pillar in the New World that is being formed.
Multipolarity is a process that cannot be stopped, it is an objective process, but Westerners under the auspices of countries like the United States are trying to unite as exclusive countries; they are trying to extend their hegemony via conflicts, such as in Ukraine, to extend their influence to the Asia-Pacific Region, among others.
We, with our Nicaraguan counterparts, are going to fight against these tendencies and prevent these acts, also within the framework created in New York of the Group of Friends in Defense of the UN Charter.
In conclusion, I would like to congratulate all our Nicaraguan friends and all the People of Nicaragua for the Peace Day holiday that was created 5 years after the prevention of a coup d'état directed from overseas. And thanks to the efforts of Daniel Ortega, the country remains stable.
I would like to wish all Nicaraguans Peace, Prosperity and Stability, and I am convinced that bilateral relations between Russia and Nicaragua will facilitate this process. I would also like to emphasize that we are going to move forward with our discussions, because the Nicaraguan Ministry of Foreign Affairs has accepted my invitation to visit Russia. Thank you very much.