In a letter addressed to the CPLP member states, dated April 16, to which Lusa had access, the President of Guinea-Bissau, Umaro Sissoco Embaló – after "new consultations carried out" by his country's Minister of Foreign Affairs, together with his counterparts –, stated that he had "the great pleasure" of informing that "the date of July 18 of this year was retained for the holding, in Bissau, of the 15th Conference of Heads of State and Government of the Community of Portuguese Speaking Countries".
"We count on the honorable presence of Your Excellency so that, collectively, we can take another significant step in strengthening the ties of cooperation that unite our countries, and in transforming the CPLP into a true community of fraternal and supportive peoples," he added.
Guinea-Bissau will assume the rotating presidency of the CPLP for two years at the next summit, succeeding São Tomé and Príncipe.
Other CPLP sources confirmed to Lusa that the date now proposed for the summit is July 18, preceded by the usual meeting of the Council of Foreign Ministers on the 17th, the anniversary of the creation of that organization.
The date initially proposed, according to the same sources, was July 7, but this was not possible to reconcile with the agendas of the heads of state and government of the nine member states.
The last summit took place in August 2023 in São Tomé and Príncipe, the country that succeeded Angola as president of the organization.
In addition to Guinea-Bissau, the CPLP member states include Angola, Brazil, Cape Verde, Equatorial Guinea, Mozambique, Portugal, São Tomé and Príncipe and East Timor.
