On June 27, 2023, Deputy Foreign Minister Andrii Melnyk, guided by the instructions of President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy on further developing and enhancing relations with the countries of Latin America and the Caribbean, held an online meeting with Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs and Cooperation of Portugal Francisco André.

At the outset of the friendly conversation, Andrii Melnyk expressed his deep gratitude for Portugal's principled support of Ukraine in the face of Russian aggression, providing military-technical and humanitarian assistance to our country, as well as for its readiness to assist in promoting Ukrainian initiatives in Latin America.

The main purpose of the meeting was to develop a common vision for the cooperation of Ukraine and Portugal in order to intensify cooperation with Latin America and the Caribbean nations.

In this regard, Andrii Melnyk briefed his interlocutor on the new approaches and priorities of Ukraine’s foreign policy in the Latin American region and the intention of the Ukrainian leadership to reset our country’s relations with this strategically important region.

The main focus was given to the importance of the wide engagement of LAC countries in promoting President Zelenskyy’s Peace Formula as a basis for ending Russian aggression.

Given Portugal's close historical, cultural, and linguistic ties with Brazil, the largest and the most influent country in the region, Deputy Foreign Minister Andrii Melnyk expressed special interest in using Lisbon's opportunities to provide Brazilian and other Latin American partners with objective information about the consequences of Russia's full-scale invasion and its global destabilizing impact.

Secretary of State Francisco André assured of Portugal's readiness to further assist in widening and intensifying contacts between Ukraine and Latin American countries, foremost with the Federative Republic of Brazil, in particular by holding common events in the region.

The parties agreed to continue maintaining a close communication and coordination on Latin America issues on a regular basis.

Andrii Melnyk invited his Portuguese counterpart to visit Kyiv on a working visit and accepted with gratitude an invitation to visit Lisbon in the near future.