"It is Mr. Alberto Neto Pereira exonerated, at his request, from the functions of Minister of Foreign Affairs, Cooperation and Communities for which he had been appointed" in November 2022, reads in the presidential decree, to which Lusa had access.
"The presidential decree takes effect immediately", states the document sent for publication in the Diário da República.
The São Tomé Foreign Minister resigned after controversial statements in which he considered that Portugal and Angola had not provided enough help to teach Portuguese in Equatorial Guinea.
"Being aware of the seriousness of the situation and assuming my responsibilities, I decided to send a letter to His Excellency, the Prime Minister and Head of Government, making my position available", declared Alberto Pereira, in a statement.
"In this sense, I hope to safeguard my image, the Government's image and above all the image of our country. It will be up to His Excellency the Prime Minister and Head of Government to make the final decision", added the head of São Tomé diplomacy.
Alberto Pereira had considered that countries like Portugal and Angola have not provided enough help to teach Portuguese in Equatorial Guinea, the most recent country in the Community of Portuguese Language Countries (CPLP), and, on the contrary, "only criticize".
The minister was speaking at the reception of around 30 staff from Equatorial Guinea who will learn Portuguese and undertake internships in various areas in São Tomé and help organize the XIV Summit of CPLP Heads of State and Government, to be held in the capital of São Tomé. Tome, on the 27th of August.
On Friday, the Sao Tome prime minister said that the Foreign Affairs minister's criticism of Portugal and Angola did not reflect the Government's position.
"In a very clear way I want to say that the minister's words do not reflect the Government's position, the Government's feeling, the Government's appreciation, that is why the minister recognized that this outburst, which has to be framed in a context particular, caused discomfort, perhaps damage and was not in line with the Government's position", underlined the prime minister.
In this sense, Patrice Trovoada considered that Alberto Pereira "had a very responsible, dignified and courageous attitude in presenting his resignation".
This is the first resignation in the Government of Patrice Trovoada, in office since November last year.
The resignation of the head of Sao Tome's diplomacy takes place one month before the 14th summit of CPLP Heads of State and Government, when Sao Tome and Principe will assume the presidency of the organisation.
Angola, Brazil, Cape Verde, Guinea-Bissau, Equatorial Guinea, Mozambique, Portugal, São Tomé and Príncipe and Timor-Leste are the nine Member States of the CPLP.
