The Brazilian Navy announced plans to establish a mission in São Tomé and Príncipe, the island nation in the Gulf of Guinea off the coast of Gabon.
The mission is intended to improve defense cooperation between the two countries, said Julio Soares de Moura Neto, commander of the Brazilian Navy, in an interview with The New York Times.
The two countries share a common language and cultural links since they were once Portuguese colonies. Brazil also has donated computers, rifles and two dinghies to the São Tomé Coast Guard. The dinghies will allow the Coast Guard to improve inspection capacity around its waters in the highly strategic area of the gulf, Panapress reported.