"We should address with great vigour the asymmetries of development reduction within the CPLP, we should be bolder in defining an agenda of convergence that would accelerate economic, social and political issues, to reduce the asymmetries and level out and improve our levels of development," said the ruler at the virtual conference taking place this morning, organized by the SAP consultant under the slogan 'Sustaining Economic Growth in the Next Normal'.
In the opinion of the ruler, "there are subjects of choice such as education, science and innovation that may have priority, but there are a number of other actions that are also priorities to accelerate the process of reducing asymmetries and levels of development.
Viegas d'Abreu criticized the lack of common intervention mechanisms not only to respond to exceptional situations such as the pandemic, but also to coordinate policies.
"We lack an effective coordination mechanism between countries, for example how the CPLP reacts to this pandemic in its constituent countries, how we take advantage of a set of policies and agendas that are on this platform, and in this regard the financial support seems critical to us, that is, we do not have a financial mechanism in the CPLP to support member states of the community," lamented the minister.
For Ricardo Viegas d'Abreu, a "review of the strategic approach to the role of the CPLP as a strategic element in uniting our countries" is needed, and in this context he presented the idea of a common agenda to meet the Sustainable Development Goals (SDOs), under the 2030 agenda defined by the United Nations.
"I would like to suggest that we have a common agenda on the ODS, create a package within the CPLP sphere of approach to these 17 objectives that can be a guide for a common agenda for economic and social development of our countries, counting on what technology already offers us that can accelerate this process of economic and social convergence," he concluded.
Also present at the meeting, the former Prime Minister of Cape Verde, José Maria Neves, agreed with the valorization of oceans, transportation and logistics and language as common heritage of the countries, emphasizing that "growth must be inclusive and sustainable from the environmental point of view" and defending the "strengthening of multilateralism in the post-Pandemic world".
