13 March 2013 - The Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for Guinea-Bissau, José Ramos-Horta, had a meeting on Wednesday with Transitional President Manuel Serifo Nhamajo at the Presidential Palace in Bissau.

The meeting followed the recent missions by the Special Representative to various African and European capitals, where he met with heads of state and government, the UN Secretary-General and other representatives of international bodies.

Speaking to the press after his meeting with the Transitional President, Ramos-Horta referred to his participation in the 42nd ordinary summit of the Economic Community of West African States, held in Yamoussoukro, Côte d'Ivoire, and his meetings with UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon, European Commission President José Manuel Durão Barroso, the European Parliament's Commission on Security and Development , and the President and Prime Minister of Portugal, Anibal Cavaco Silva, and Pedro Paços Coelho.

"I came to exchange views with Transitional President Nhamajo, to tell him that there continues to be much goodwill on the part of the Secretary-General of the UN, the international community, to support this transition process so that constitutional order can be re-established and Guinea-Bissau can resume its contacts with other nations in all normality," he said. "President Nhamajo is working very seriously, tirelessly, so that, together with all other stakeholders in this process, the Guineans, the roadmap can be completed and then a broader-based government is established, whereby all Guineans feel represented in this transition process."

"This is extremely important for the international community to be able to take the next steps and resume the aid that was suspended. We exchanged views and I am quite encouraged by the initiatives of the President of the Transition, in dialogue with the PAIGC, PRS and other parties, with civil society, so that the roadmap is completed and a broad-based transitional government is achieved," he added.

He added that "the United Nations will continue to support the entire process of dialogue so that we can achieve a definitive solution to the problems of Guinea-Bissau, which requires free, democratic, transparent elections, and that all Guineans feel represented in the country's future. "