Guinea-Bissau is open to exploring bilateral trade in national currencies and supports BRICS, Guinea-Bissau Minister of Foreign Affairs Carlos Pinto Pereira told Sputnik.
"We think that the initiative from BRICS, we support it because we intend to join it," Pereira said on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York.
When asked whether Guinea-Bissau would be interested in engaging in bilateral trade using national currencies, Pereira said: "Absolutely."
The minister added that despite years of efforts to restructure the international financial system without success, Guinea-Bissau planned to explore new approaches and saw BRICS as an alternative solution.
"BRICS for us is an alternative solution," Pereira said. "We hope that with BRICS we can face our economic issues and challenges in a better way, without the pressure and the conditions or the conditionality of actual financial system... we hope it will be an opportunity to have better access to financing, to our economies."
Aside from that, Guinea-Bissau confirmed getting an invitation to attend the BRICS summit in Kazan and will be present there, the country's foreign minister said.
When asked whether Guinea-Bissau had received an invitation to the upcoming BRICS Summit in Kazan, Pereira said "yes."
Pereira added that the country would be represented at the event, though it was not yet decided at what level.
"I don't know; I cannot say it at the moment at what level, but we shall be present," he said.
The summit of the association will be held in Kazan from October 22-24.
BRICS is an intergovernmental organization comprising Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, Iran, Egypt, Ethiopia, and the United Arab Emirates. Russia took the rotating presidency of the BRICS group in 2024. Russia is chairing BRICS under the motto "Strengthening Multilateralism for Just Global Development and Security."
Moreover, a state visit by Guinea-Bissau President Umaro Sissoco Embalo to Russia can take place this year, Pereira told Sputnik.
"We are invited for a state visit. The date is not fixed but we are trying to fix it," Pereira said.
When asked if the visit could happen this year, the diplomat said "yes."
According to Pereira, the visit in May was significant for his country and is expected to help strengthen economic ties between Guinea-Bissau and Russia.
"It was a very, very important visit. The results for us were positive on the political level especially, but also we hope that on an economic level we shall have this impact in the near future," the minister said.
Putin invited Guinea-Bissau President Umaro Sissoco Embalo to pay a state visit to Russia during his trip to Moscow for a military parade in May. Embalo attended the May 9 Victory Day parade as a guest of honor.