In addition, they stressed that the timely appointment of a new prime minister by the President of the Republic is crucial. "

The Heads of Missions welcomed peaceful, credible and transparent parliamentary elections in Guinea-Bissau on 10 March and commended national actors and international partners for their support and collaboration.

However, they expressed concern that post-election stabilization efforts are facing serious challenges related to the resurgence of party divisions around the election of the members of the National People's Congress (ANP).

They also asked the national authorities and the National Electoral Commission (CNE) to complete the electoral cycle by organizing the presidential elections before the end of 2019, in accordance with the Constitution and Electoral Law. The Heads of Missions encouraged the partners, particularly the Group of Five (AU, CPLP, ECOWAS, EU and UN) to continue to coordinate their activities and to support and involve the political actors in Guinea-Bissau in order to promote genuine dialogue and development in the country.

The United Nations Integrated Office for Peacebuilding in Guinea-Bissau (UNIOGBIS) hosted for the first time the annual meeting of the heads of UN peace missions in West Africa. This regular meeting has as its main objective the sharing of information and analysis of the peace and security situation in the subregion, strengthening coordination in order to strengthen synergies to address the common challenges faced by the regions of West Africa and Sael.

The meeting was chaired by the Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for West Africa, Mohamed Ibn Chambas, with the participation of the SRSG in Guinea-Bissau, José Viegas Filho, Representatives of the Peace Missions in Mali ), The Central African Republic and the UN System Resident Coordinators in Côte d'Ivoire and Liberia, countries where UN peace missions have closed in recent years.

In addition to Guinea-Bissau, the discussions focused on the recent security incidents in the region. The Heads of Mission expressed their condolences to the families of the civilian and military victims, including in Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger, as well as in the Lake Chad Basin, while strongly condemning attacks on civilians and peacekeepers. They emphasized the need for a multidimensional and regional approach to address the root causes of insecurity and called for enhanced cooperation between all relevant actors and the governments involved.