"We will leave a dynamic CPLP, a CPLP with a new speed, a CPLP that effectively has little to do with the CPLP of a few years ago," recognized, speaking to journalists in Praia, António Alves Lopes, coordinator of the rotating presidency of Cape Verde, the CPLP.
The official, who is also Cape Verde's focal point in the CPLP for cooperation issues, was speaking at the end of the meeting of the organization's Cooperation Focal Points, which he chaired by video conference from Praia, the last of the Cape Verdean presidency before the handover to the Angolan presidency of the organization in July.
"In reviewing the different projects, we found, in fact, that during the year 2020 there was actually a delay in the implementation of some projects (...) This pandemic led to a kind of barrage, practically the whole world, and the CPLP and its cooperation projects were not spared in this regard either," he said.
The balance sheet of the CPLP's financial execution in 2020, as well as cooperation actions and projects in the organization last year were topics addressed at this two-day meeting.
"However, I must emphasize that this delay in execution did not tragically affect any of the projects," António Alves Lopes also recognized, stressing the "legacy" that Cape Verde leaves to the organization.
The delegations of the member-states analyzed in this meeting new proposals of activities, namely the Climate Observatory of the CPLP and the support to the constitution of the Biosphere Reserve Network of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in the countries of the community.
"The cooperation projects are not projects executed in one year or two years, it takes some time," António Alves Lopes pointed out.
The Cape Verdean presidency was extended by a year due to the effects of the covid-19 pandemic in 2020 and culminates with the expected approval at the 13th Conference of Heads of State and Government of the CPLP, in July, in Luanda, of the mobility agreement between member states.
This agreement, already approved on March 26 by the Council of Ministers of the CPLP and which after the summit still requires ratification by each country, is considered the greatest highlight of the Cape Verdean presidency of the organization.
The CPLP has nine member states: Angola, Brazil, Cape Verde, Guinea-Bissau, Equatorial Guinea, Mozambique, Portugal, Sao Tome and Principe and East Timor.
