"Even if there is a proposal from Angola and that Cape Verde agrees, the decisions are made by the Member States" who are part of the Community of Portuguese Speaking Countries (CPLP), said the spokesman of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MIREX), Estevão Alberto.
"It is a joint decision, in multilateralism this is how it works," he added.
At stake is the possible extension of the CPLP presidency by Cape Verde to 2021, due to the constraints caused by the covid-19 pandemic, following a proposal from Angola, which should assume the leadership of the Portuguese-speaking organization in July.
“Because of the effects of the covid-19, Angola proposed that Cape Verde remain the president of the Community of Portuguese Speaking Countries [CPLP] until 2021”, the Cape Verdean Minister of Foreign Affairs, Luís Filipe Tavares, told Lusa.
“Angola does not currently preside over the CPLP. Therefore, it is up to the presidency of the organization [Cape Verde] to consult the Member States ”, underlined Estêvão Alberto.
The MIREX spokesman said that a meeting at the level of ambassadors (Standing Committee for Consultation) is scheduled for 28 May in Lisbon, where the issue will be debated.
"The results of that meeting will be submitted to the consideration of the superior instances of all the Member States for the decision", indicated, specifying that "there have been political-diplomatic consultations at several levels" on this matter.
In an interview with Television of Cape Verde (TCV), Luís Filipe Tavares said that the Extraordinary Council of Ministers (meeting of the heads of diplomacy in Portuguese-speaking countries) should take place later this year, in Cape Verde, to debate the mobility proposal, “if the pandemic situation allows it ”.
“Regarding the summit, a few days ago we received a request from Angola on how they would like Cape Verde to continue to assume the presidency of the CPLP until 2021 because Angola says that it is currently unable to take into account the pandemic and the evolution of the coming months regarding this disease ”, said Tavares.
In January, CPLP's executive secretary, Francisco Ribeiro Telles, told Lusa that the summit of heads of state and government of the community's member states was scheduled for September.
Initially scheduled, as usual, for July - the month in which the Lusophone organization celebrates its anniversary - the summit of heads of state and government was eventually scheduled for "2 and 3 of September", according to "a proposal from Angola in that meaning, "said the Portuguese ambassador.
The Luanda summit will mark the end of the mandate of the Cape Verdean presidency of the CPLP and the beginning of the Angolan presidency.
At the time, Cape Verdean Prime Minister Ulisses Correia e Silva said that he saw no constraints in postponing the summit of CPLP heads of state and government to September, guaranteeing that the country would do “with pleasure” another two months of presidency of the organization.
"The important thing is that at this summit, we think that the conditions are created to celebrate a great moment, which is mobility at the level of the CPLP", said the head of the Government of Cape Verde.
However, in April, with the covid-19 pandemic already declared, the executive secretary admitted that "hardly" there will be conditions for the summit to be held in September.
This Monday, the Cape Verdean Minister of Foreign Affairs confirmed that Angola informed that it “does not have the conditions” to hold the summit on 2 and 3 September.
“But Cape Verde has already answered them that it is available to remain in the presidency of the CPLP until July 2021”, said Luís Filipe Tavares, guaranteeing that, until then, there will be “enough time” to see the issue of mobility, whose proposal by Cape Verde it was already agreed between the nine Member States and will be ratified at the Luanda summit.
