21 February 2013 - The Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for Guinea-Bissau, José Ramos-Horta, on Wednesday attended a meeting of the Cabinet of Ministers in Bissau at the invitation of the country's Prime Minister, Rui Duarte de Barros.

Mr. Ramos-Horta, who had earlier been received by Foreign Minister Faustino Fudut Imbali, briefed the Council on his mission, and expressed his intention to work with all parties, without exception, with a view to building lasting peace in Guinea-Bissau.

Since his arrival in Bissau on 13 February, the new head of the UN Integrated Peace-building Support Office in Guinea-Bissau, UNIOGBIS, has been meeting various actors, stakeholders, including members of the Government and other State institutions, representatives of political parties and members of civil society. He has also had meetings with representatives of the diplomatic corps and regional and international organisations.

After attending Wednesday's cabinet meeting, Mr. Ramos-Horta delivered a talk at the Guinea-Bissau Faculty of Law and exchanged ideas with students and academics there. He stressed his intention to listen to Bissau-Guineans, engage in constant dialogue with them and encourage and support the country's effort to emerge from crisis.

He also said he would contribute to the mobilization of resources for Guinea-Bissau, noting that despite the current economic crisis in the world, "there exists the political will" to provide assistance to Guinea-Bissau which, however, would only materialize when a consensual roadmap on the way forward is worked out by the Guinea-Bissauans.

"I feel it is possible for our Guinean brothers to arrive at a consensus," he said.