Augusto Santos Silva was speaking to the press, after two days in Luanda, to participate in the 147th General Assembly of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (UIP) where he held meetings with several delegations from other Portuguese-speaking countries, with his counterpart Carolina Cerqueira, the Minister of Foreign Affairs , Téte Antonio and with the President of the Republic, João Lourenço.
Deputy Duarte Pacheco (PSD), acting president of the UIP and who is now finishing his term, spoke on Monday at the opening of the meeting, talking about the topic of conflicts, which was not well received by representatives of some delegations, such as Palestine and Iran, who expressed displeasure at the approach and shouted, in English, “shame”.
According to sources contacted by Lusa, some parliamentarians considered the speech biased because it did not speak “about Israeli crimes against civilians, in particular children”.
For Santos Silva, this divergence “is normal”, highlighting that both Duarte Pacheco and the Angolan President expressed “very consensual” positions on the topic, “but none of them are unanimous in the international community”.
“It is natural that speeches like that of the president of the IPU; that it was not empty, that it expressed its position on the different topics had received applause from some and some reaction from others", he highlighted, adding that Portugal's position on the matter is "very clear", condemning the Hamas attack and saying that Israel has the right to defend itself within the framework of international humanitarian law.
He added that the Israeli-Palestinian conflict can only be resolved through political dialogue, compliance with United Nations resolutions and the creation of two states – Israel and Palestine – living side by side.
“This position is very clear, but it is evidently not unanimous in the international community and it is natural that in an assembly that brings together 179 delegations there are some who do not like this position”, he reinforced.
The President of the Assembly of the Republic made a positive assessment of the participation in the UIP with “two very full and very useful days, which are good for the soul” due to the “affection and companionship with Portuguese-speaking African countries.
He highlighted the importance that Portugal attaches to the fact that for the first time the IPU is taking place in a Portuguese-speaking African country and considered that this is a relevant space for interparliamentary cooperation “at a time when tensions, conflicts and hostilities in the world are manifest” .
Regarding the specificity of parliamentary action, he highlighted the fact that it adds the involvement of various parties to foreign policy, indicating that, in the Portuguese case, the two parties that alternate in power have very close positions.
Santos Silva ended his visit to Angola this Tuesday with a meeting at the Portuguese Embassy with the community residing in Luanda.
