The official visit to Moscow of the Minister of Foreign Affairs Luca Beccari has began today. Minister Beccari is accompanied by a delegation composed of the Ambassador of San Marino to the Russian Federation, Marcello Beccari, and some officials of the Department and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. In the morning, Minister Beccari met with the Minister of Foreign Affairs Sergej Lavrov and his delegation, including the Ambassador accredited to the Republic of San Marino Sergej Razov.
 

Welcomed to Moscow with the highest honours, Minister Beccari began his official visit with the traditional laying of a wreath at the tomb of the Unknown Soldier.

Following this, the bilateral meeting took place in an atmosphere of absolute cordiality and friendship and focused on concrete opportunities for cooperation in the health, economic, cultural and foreign policy fields, particularly with regard to the multilateral agenda.

Numerous topics were discussed "in a climate of fruitful negotiation", said Minister Lavrov, who met with Minister Beccari for the second time in two years. Lavrov’s affirmation testifies to his interest in giving a significant boost to concrete cooperation between the two States.

Emergency health issues were a central theme. Minister Beccari emphasised how the use of the Sputnik V vaccine had been fundamental in the Republic in the fight against the pandemic and had contributed to a large extent to the elimination of contagions during the summer. Both sides reiterated their willingness to continue working together in the health sector in a concrete and fruitful manner.

“I am convinced that, in general, efforts against the pandemic need to be increased, as well as cooperation among States. There is no geopolitics in the fight against the coronavirus. We must deploy all the forces we have to defeat this serious problem, which affects not only the health of our citizens but also the economy of our countries.”

Equally fruitful was the discussion of the health situation in the multilateral context, with particular reference to the United Nations and the Council of Europe.

Minister Lavrov emphasised how indispensable it is, now more than ever, to jointly promote dialogue and exchange of views on major challenges in the international and multilateral context.

It was agreed to strengthen cooperation also in the fields of culture and higher education, especially in the university sector, as well as in tourism and trade policies. At the end of the meeting, both parties expressed the willingness to further strengthen bilateral relations through greater cooperation in the economic, financial and cultural spheres and to make bilateral consultations more frequent, in order to follow up on the above-mentioned cooperation opportunities.

In the late afternoon, Minister Beccari met with Finance Minister Anton Siluanov, with whom he discussed opportunities for cooperation in the economic and financial areas.

San Marino, 13 September 2021