CPLP member States will step up Development Cooperation

The 33rd Annual Meeting of the Cooperation Focal Points of the Community of Portuguese Language Countries (CPLP) was held on 26-27 October 2016 in Brasilia, Brazil.

During this meeting, the delegations of CPLP member States dwell on the forms of action of this statutory meeting and discussed tasks and work method. It was also examined the financial implementation of the resources invested in CPLP’s Special Fund during the first nine months of 2016, under the Indicative Cooperation Programme, and information on the current state of approved projects, in previous meetings implementation, was provided. Member States' units responsible for cooperation in CPLP also analyzed some proposals for activities.

The meeting also provided information on various topics, including the holding of the First Technical Meeting of Energy in CPLP, which took place on October 5-6 in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea, and where ALER participated as a guest.

The 33rd Meeting of the Cooperation Focal Points involved, on the 27th, a seminar on "The Sustainable Development Goals and the 2030 Agenda impact for the future of cooperation in CPLP - CPLP Contributions."

CPLP seeks to align its strategy for cooperation with the 2030 United Nations Agenda for Sustainable Development to attract funds at a time it has fewer financial resources available.

CPLP Cooperation Director, Manuel Lapão, admitted that the work he manages "will naturally be affected by this current scenario of a certain economic constraint" in the Member States, but underlined the opportunity to cooperate more with the private sector, within 2030 Agenda, that "definitely calls for alternative fundraising."

It should be point out that one of the Sustainable Development Goals, in particular the seventh, concerns Access to Energy and use of Renewable Energy.

The 11th Conference of the Heads of State and Government of the CPLP will be held from 31 October to 1 November in Brasilia, Brazil, country which takes over the presidency of the organization, succeeding East-Timor.