On the 29 April the Russian Foreign Minister, Sergey Lavrov, will make a visit to the Republic of Nicaragua within the framework of his trip to Latin American countries.

At the talks with the President, Daniel Ortega, they will discuss prospects of development of the bilateral political dialogue, the extension of cooperation in different areas, the strengthening of the contractual legal framework in our relations, as well as the most topical issues on the international agenda.

Russia and Nicaragua are connected by time-proven, truly friendly, fraternal and partner strategic relations. We share the vision of a fair world order, solidarity and mutual support in international affairs, which we highly appreciate. Significant progress was reached in the reinforcement of bilateral cooperation for the purposes of resolving the priority tasks of social and economic development.

Our countries interact effectively on the international stage, have the same opinion about many issues on the global agenda, such as the reinforcement of the rule of international law, strengthening of the central role of the UN in supporting international stability and security, disarmament, outer space, the fight against terrorism, the trade in illegal drugs and organised crime.

Nicaragua traditionally supports Russian priorities within the UN General Assembly, including the initiatives to counteract the glorification of Nazism, international information security, transparency measures and the reinforcement of trust in outer space, traffic security and human rights problems. Managua voted against the UN General Assembly resolution "Territorial integrity of Ukraine", which was adopted on the 27 April.

Interparliamentary contacts contribute to the reinforcement of our interaction. We can also mention the visit of a delegation from the State Duma of the Russian Federation, headed by the First Deputy Chairman of the State Duma's Committee for Labour, Social Policy and Veteran Affairs, the Coordinator of the Group of Deputies for Ties with Parliaments of Central American Countries, Alla Kuzmina, to Nicaragua on the 25-28 March.

The partnership nature of relations between Russia and Nicaragua is a solid foundation for the consistent development of the entire set of our bilateral ties. The work of the Intergovernmental Commission on Trade, Economic, Scientific and Technical Cooperation, the third session of which was held on the 4-5 November 2013 in Managua, contributes to this.

The entry into force of the Intergovernmental agreement on the promotion and mutual protection of capital investments in September 2013 opens up good opportunities for investment cooperation with Nicaragua.

The extension of direct contacts between business circles within the two countries, who should be more actively engaged in the implementation of bilateral projects, will contribute to the reinforcement of our trade and economic interaction. To that end, we attach great importance to the forthcoming visit of a Nicaraguan business mission to Russia in May-June.

Russia positively responded to the requests of Nicaragua for humanitarian aid. In 2011-2013 we supplied significant amounts of wheat to Nicaragua. Our Nicaraguan partners note the vital social and political significance of this programme, which effectively resolved the problem of ensuring food security in the country. We are working on the issue of supplying Russian agricultural equipment to Nicaraguans.

Our countries actively cooperate in the area of prevention of emergencies. The Russian Emergencies Ministry has been implementing (until August 2014) a Programme of aid to Nicaragua toward the development of their national system of warning and responding to emergencies. Russian fire trucks, tents, mobile hospitals, as well as special equipment and fittings were delivered within the framework of this programme.

Since 2009, Russia has been providing Nicaragua humanitarian aid to remove landmines in its territory. Modern special equipment was sent to this country, aid was provided in purchasing road and construction equipment, instructional and methodical assistance was also provided. Since August 2013 the International Centre of Humanitarian Demining started to operate in Nicaragua. Its purpose is to prepare specialists for location and removal of anti-personnel landmines.

Our cooperation in the area of counteracting illegal trade in drugs is dynamically developing. There has been an increased demand for courses taught by experts of the Russian Federal Drug Control Service for employees of the anti-drug services of Central American countries from our partners in Nicaragua. Taking these positive experiences into consideration, the work is ongoing to create a permanent regional Training Centre of the Russian Federal Drug Control Service in Managua.

The reinforcement of partner relations between Russia and Nicaragua dictates the need for the extension of our contractual legal framework. A range of draft bilateral agreements on cooperation within the ambit of the customs service, in the area of civil aviation, outer space, education, health care, finance, veterinary and phytosanitary security are being developed.