CPLP celebrates 20 years

The CPLP - Community of Portuguese-Speaking Countries was founded on July 17, 1996 by Angola, Brazil, Cape Verde, Guinea-Bissau, Mozambique, Portugal and Sao Tome and Principe. East -Timor joined in 2002 after its independence and Equatorial Guinea in 2014.

With 2016 marking the 20th anniversary of CPLP's foundation, it’s time to look to the future and the Executive Secretary of CPLP, Murade Murargy, believes that the next summit of Heads of State and Government - that should take place later this year in Brazil - must also clearly define which is the "common agenda". "One can assume that, since the fundamentals of CPLP's creation – language, political and diplomatic coordination and technical cooperation for development - are already consolidated aspects, we must now cover new areas" said the Executive Secretary. Such areas can range from economic and business to tourism and energy, not forgetting the environment, agriculture, food and nutrition security or seas and oceans.

"States must use the full available potential in order to strengthen its cooperation and its performance overall", Murade Murargy defended. On the other hand, the economic and business plan defines itself as a key factor in helping some countries to overcome chronic problems of poverty and unemployment. "Who is going to support governments [in this task] is precisely the business sector, creating jobs and ensurign that young people can entry on the labour market" he said.

About CPLP route in the past 20 years, the Executive Secretary said he believed the Lusophone organization is "consolidated" and is becoming an organization whose Member States and people "gather to find solutions to problems that plague the respective governments.” The organization has done "extraordinary" work and now "has a voice in the international arena," he added. Murade Murargy stressed that this is an organization to stay "forever" and that it will never fail to pursue its ultimate goal: "the wellbeing of our people".

The Solemn Session for the commemoration of the 20th anniversary of the Community of Portuguese-Speaking Countries (CPLP) took place on July 18, 2016 in the auditorium at the organization's headquarters.

In the presence of the President of the Portuguese Republic, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, the event had the interventions of the Executive Secretary of CPLP, Ambassador Murade Murargy, and the representative of the ongoing Presidency of the CPLP, Ambassador Antonito de Araújo, from East Timor.

Read Ambassador Murade Murargy's speech here.

Watch the ceremony here (video).