President of Equatorial Guinea: Serbia is our ally

Speaking to reporters, he explained that Africa is struggling with a lack of resources, development, and growing security threats.

We cannot continue down this path, we need to seek out friendly countries like Serbia. That is why we are here, so that our partnership can serve as a model of friendship and mutual respect, Mbasogo said following meeting with Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic.

He explained that Equatorial Guinea wants to maintain its independence but faces challenges in terms of technology.

While African countries have achieved political independence, they still lack economic independence, he noted.

Our economy is stagnating because those who colonized us have shown no willingness to help us develop, they continue to exploit our resources, and that is why we must be strong and seek out allies, like we have found in Serbia, Mbasogo said.

Following their meeting, the two presidents attended the ceremony of exchanging signed agreements on cooperation in security and public order, economy and trade, mutual promotion and protection of investments, and the recognition of academic degrees, titles and diplomas.

Vucic and Mbasogo, who has been in power in the small Central African country since 1979, will also speak Tuesday at a roundtable titled Serbia and Equatorial Guinea – A Partnership for the Future.

Mbasogo was welcomed at Belgrade’s Nikola Tesla Airport on Monday by Serbia’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Internal Affairs Ivica Dacic, who described the visit as a great opportunity to strengthen bilateral relations and cooperation.

The Serbian Foreign Affairs Ministry said that diplomatic relations, established in May 1970, are strong, but that there is still room to improve political and economic cooperation.

The Ministry also highlighted Equatorial Guinea’s “principled stance” on not recognizing Kosovo’s independence, which, it said, contributes positively to the relationship between the two countries.