The Secretary of State for Transport and Communications of Guinea-Bissau, João Bernardo Vieira, said the government has taken “the first steps” for creating a national airline.

“The Guinean government will seek several partners in this direction,” he said, quoted by news website GBissau.com.

Mr Bernardo Vieira was speaking to reporters after signing an agreement with Portugal-based euroAtlantic, an airline that will fly once a week between Lisbon and Bissau.

“In the past two months we have worked to find solutions to overcome the deficiencies of air links and the charter contract between the government and euroAtlantic is the best solution,” Mr Bernardo Vieira was quoted as saying.