"We can be a relevant economic force if we work for it, we leave the challenge of starting to think about the pertinence and feasibility of creating a CPLP investment bank", suggested João Lourenço, in the closing speech of the XIII Conference of Heads of State and Government of the Community of Portuguese Language Countries (CPLP), which ended this Sunday in Luanda.
The creation of a potential bank is in line with the intention to include a new economic and business pillar, one of the priorities of the Angolan CPLP presidency, which has just started.
João Lourenço underlined that during the summit, the Heads of State and Government had the opportunity to discuss relevant issues for their respective countries and establish a cooperation framework more in line with the current international situation.
"The health crisis caused by covid-19 forced all countries to observe painful measures of biosecurity and reduction of economic activity and movement of people and forced to change the form of relationship between countries and people, but it should not prevent them from diversifying economies ", noted.
"We have to find new, more creative ways to adapt to this new reality and live with a pandemic that is already in its second year. It is essential to make our economies more attractive and explore their complementarity, increasing trade and cross investments" , highlighted the President.
João Lourenço stressed that the CPLP countries have "an enormous industrial, agricultural, fishing and tourist economic potential, in many cases still to be explored" and that it should deserve more attention in order to transform the potential into real wealth.
"We can be a relevant economic force if we work for it", exhorted the chief executive, leaving the challenge "of starting to think about the pertinence and feasibility of creating a CPLP investment bank", even if the possibility is, for already, remote.
João Lourenço also highlighted that significant steps have been taken in other areas of cooperation such as the promotion of the Portuguese language, political concertation and the cultural front and highlighted the attractiveness of the CPLP, measured by the growing request from other states and international organizations for associated or consultative observers .
The President considered as one of the main challenges the one of the free movement among the member countries of the CPLP and considered that the mobility is decisive for the economic cooperation and greater approximation between the peoples.
"We still have a way to go, we need to work on defining ways to make the phased but effective materialization of this will manifested here and which reflects the will of our peoples a reality", stressed João Lourenço, referring to the signed mobility agreement and which constitutes the high point of the summit.
