On September 23, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov held meetings with the foreign ministers of Belize, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama and El Salvador on the sidelines of the 76^th session of the UN General Assembly.

The ministers expressed a mutual interest in promoting cooperation between Russia and regional countries in the multilateral format and in making these contacts regular and pragmatic in order to strengthen political dialogue and cooperation in the attainment of sustainable development goals. The participants pointed out the need to promote multilateralism in international relations, the central coordinating role of the UN, and respect for the universally recognised norms of international law. They also emphasised the importance of rallying the international community in the fight against the novel coronavirus infection.

An agreement between the Government of the Russian Federation and the Government of Belize on the terms of mutual visa-free travel for the two countries’ citizens was signed during one of the meetings.