"A great expectation was created in our populations with the announcement of the approval of the agreement on mobility in the CPLP, but the reality is still far from corresponding to the expressed will, a situation that it is up to us to correct", said João Lourenço, in his speech of opening of the work of the organization's 14th summit, which took place this Sunday in São Tomé and Príncipe.
"We are an association of countries and peoples with many aspects in common, which are not limited to language and which even extend to our way of being and looking at the world", he said, considering that "these converging factors must be enhanced to eliminate the barriers that still exist in practice and that hinder economic cooperation between countries".
For this reason, the organization needs "financial and material resources" to enable a "spirit of true brotherhood of States".
"This will only be possible if we actually manage to ensure easier mobility in the CPLP space, in a legal way, by suppressing and simplifying the procedures for granting entry visas in our countries", added the official, who in the last two years held the rotating presidency of the CPLP, which is now assumed by his Sao Tomean counterpart, Carlos Vila Nova.
Today, the CPLP is an “attractive organization due to the fair principles that govern it”, said João Lourenço, who highlighted the effort made by the Angolan presidency in the creation of a new pillar linked to economic cooperation, having created a new department for Economic Affairs and Business.
"We have a lot of work ahead of us to improve the organization's functioning" in order to have an effect on "improving the general living conditions of our populations", considered the head of state, stressing that the organization seeks to adapt to the new challenges .
“The citizens of our respective countries have great and legitimate expectations regarding what they can expect from the CPLP, which obliges us to rectify, whenever justified, the path we have been following to achieve our objectives more satisfactorily”, he also said in his speech.
The CPLP, which comprises Angola, Brazil, Cape Verde, Guinea-Bissau, Equatorial Guinea, Mozambique, Portugal, São Tomé and Príncipe and Timor-Leste, held the 14th Conference of Heads of State and Government, in São Tomé and Príncipe, under the motto "Youth and Sustainability".
