On the Antena 1 program "Variable Geometry", Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa argued that his official visit to Guinea-Bissau between Monday and Tuesday, at the invitation of the Guinean President, Umaro Sissoco Embaló, "was immensely worthwhile.
"It will also be worth even more if at the Luanda summit we are all the heads of state of the CPLP, something that has not happened," he added.
Asked about the situation in Cabo Delgado, Mozambique, the Portuguese President replied: "Recent times have shown very positive steps in the response of the CPLP, as will be seen later in Luanda, but also of the international community.
"We are closer to what is a new phase of a solution than we were six months ago, four months ago, three months ago," he said, without giving details.
Still on the CPLP, the Portuguese head of state welcomed "the step that will now be taken at the Luanda Summit" regarding mobility within the Lusophone world.
In his view, "is crucial" to the goal of having a CPLP that goes "further in the lives of people.
"There were states that were less open, for reasons of regional integration or their own idiosyncrasies, and we had to square the circle and go to a solution that was very flexible, but had a hard core," he described.
Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa pointed out that "whoever wants to be part of the hard core, is part of it, and is free to be; whoever is not part of the hard core has a more flexible regime in terms of time and content - which, nevertheless, allows no one to be left out.
In response to criticism of his official visit to Guinea-Bissau, he began by saying that Portugal is in dialogue "with many states in the world" and countries "brothers in the CPLP" that have "very different political regimes: single party, non-unique party, leading party, conditioned multipartyism.
The head of state argued that "the best way to contribute to the acceptance of certain principles is not absence," that "to stop living together is to stop creating conditions for dialogue to strengthen democracy, the democratic rule of law."
On the other hand, he highlighted that he met in Bissau with the representatives of the political parties and sustained that "this simple fact showed that there is still a multi-party, an opposition that thinks very differently from the so-called situation.
When he visited Bissau, before his Guinean counterpart, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa told him: "Just as Portugal has done everything in its power to enhance the CPLP, is sure that your Excellency will be in Guinea-Bissau an interpreter of the same will.
The next CPLP summit is scheduled for July 16 and 17 in Luanda. Cape Verde currently presides over this community, followed by the Angolan presidency.
Angola, Brazil, Cape Verde, Guinea-Bissau, Equatorial Guinea, Mozambique, Portugal, Sao Tome and Principe and East Timor are the member states of the CPLP.
