OREANDA-NEWS. UC RUSAL is pleased to announce that a group of the Company's executives concluded a successful visit to Guinea as part of a Russian governmental delegation to meet Guinea president Alpha Conde and other officials with Russian Foreign Affairs Minister Sergey Lavrov.

During the visit the parties discussed a whole range of international and regional problems, as well as the development of bilateral relations; primarily economic cooperation with a focus on the mining industry. Both parties confirmed their commitment to the development of mutually advantageous trade ties, which will help to resolve vital issues in Guinea’s sustainable development. In this context, special attention was paid to providing favourable conditions for Russian companies' operations in Guinea.

Specifically, there was a special focus on RUSAL's Guinea experience. Since 2001, RUSAL is Russia's largest representative in the country. The Company's assets include Compagnie des Bauxites de Kindia (CBK) and the Frigua alumina-bauxite complex. RUSAL also holds a right to develop the Dian-Dian bauxite deposit. The Company is investing actively into the country’s social infrastructure, implementing a number of programmes aimed at raising the standard of living in the region, including a large-scale educational project enabling Guinean students to study in Russian universities.

“The Russian delegation welcomes the agreements reached between the Guinean Government and UC RUSAL in December 2012. These agreements meet the interests of both parties. The balance of interests should be sustained. We also value RUSAL's meaningful contribution to Guinean human capital through the creation of a hundred scholarships for education in Russia, with a focus on the professions that are in demand in Guinea. After speaking to President Alpha Conde, I can say that there are quite good perspectives for the growth of Russian investments into the Guinean mining sector. This will promote the creation of new jobs and will fuel economic growth,” said Russian Foreign Affairs Minister Sergey Lavrov.

“This year marks 55th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Russia and Guinea. For the last 10 years our Company's operations have developed into an important indicator of Russia-Guinean bilateral economic cooperation. RUSAL is engaged in a continuous open dialogue with the Republic's authorities. In our view, the signing of the Annex to the Agreement with the Republic of Guinea, specifying details of the development of Dian-Dian, will boost our cooperation in the mining industry even further, and relations among our states as a whole,” said RUSAL's First Deputy CEO Vladislav Soloviev.