According to the document, which Lusa had access to, the parties agreed to cooperate in these instances on "fundamental issues of international security and stability" and also to "coordinate efforts to jointly face challenges and threats to global and regional security and stability".

The commitment signed on 24 April and in force since 5 May does not seem to suggest that São Tomé will necessarily change its positions in international organisations regarding Russia, but, given the formalisation of "cooperation" on "fundamental issues of international security and stability", the question arises as to how São Tomé will vote in possible future new United Nations resolutions similar to the two condemnations of the Russian invasion of Ukraine on 24 February 2022, which São Tomé voted in favour of.

The agreement provides for "exchange of information on issues of mutual interest in the military domain", as well as -- reinforcing the idea above -- "exchange of experiences and information on the implementation of national defence doctrines".

The parties also committed to "consultations on issues of global and regional security" and to organise "joint operational and combat training activities"; "participate in military exercises"; "port calls by military vessels and visits by military aircraft".

"Building and reforming the armed forces", "combat training of troops", "cooperation on issues of recruitment of the armed forces", "use of weapons and military and logistics equipment", "exchange of experiences and information within the framework of the fight against extremist ideology and international terrorism" and "exchange of experiences and information in the context of the fight against piracy" are, among others, also identified in this framework agreement.

The agreement provides for the creation of a "joint working group" to coordinate the cooperation now signed, whose meetings will be held "alternately" in each of the countries.

It was agreed to draw up a "military cooperation plan", which will include "the activities, forms, locations and schedules, as well as the definition of the responsible bodies, the number of participants and other issues".

The agreement in the articles is based on the assumption of the parties' willingness to "develop military cooperation on a long-term basis", which, the signatories emphasise, "contributes to strengthening international peace and stability".

The "financial aspects" are included as an autonomous article in the text, establishing that each party assumes the "independent" financing of the "expenses of its representatives related to the implementation of this agreement", if they do not agree "otherwise", "in writing".

More importantly, however, is that the "implementation of activities within the framework of the agreement will depend on the availability of funding from the parties".

Finally, the articles provide for commitments to confidentiality of information on military cooperation, emergency medical assistance, applicable legislation, jurisdiction and legal protection, security and dispute resolution.

The agreement was concluded for an "indefinite period of time" and may be terminated by written notification via diplomatic channels, in which case its validity shall cease 180 days after receipt of the notification by the other party.

The signing of the agreement was reported on 6 May by the official Russian news agency Sputnik, which emphasised that military cooperation between the countries "contributes to strengthening international peace and stability", and was subsequently confirmed by the São Tomé government, with the opposition criticising the "secrecy" in which it took place.

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