Bissau, July 18, 2025 (Lusa) - The President of Sao Tome and Principe, Carlos Vila Nova, on Friday welcomed the political dialogue and cooperation that has marked the Community of Portuguese Language Countries (CPLP) for almost 30 years, since the organisation was created.
In his speech handing over the two-year pro tempore presidency to the President of Guinea-Bissau, Umaro Sissoco Embaló, Carlos Vila-Nova said that in about 30 years, the CPLP has established itself as a “privileged space for political dialogue, political consultation, cooperation and solidarity”.
The São Toméan President noted that consultation and solidarity occur between peoples “united by strongly established historical and cultural ties”.
On Thursday, the CPLP leaders present in Bissau to participate in the XV Conference of Heads of State and Government of the organisation marked the 29th anniversary of the community at the Guinea-Bissau presidential palace.
“May this date inspire everyone to strengthen the founding commitments of the CPLP,” said the outgoing president of the organisation, who congratulated the peoples of the community “for their shared journey”.
Carlos Vila Nova said that the two years of São Tomé and Principe’s presidency had been a challenge that his country had met “with duty, humility and selflessness” in the face of challenges “in a world marked by rapid change”.
The President of São Tomé and Príncipe pointed to multidimensional crises and geopolitical uncertainties, situations which, he said, had forced the CPLP to remain “firm in its purposes, active in its actions and united”.
“Our presidency sought to converge even more with the strengthening of internal cohesion, the enhancement of mobility and citizenship, the promotion of the Portuguese language and the deepening of solidarity among us,” said Vila Nova.
The outgoing president of the Portuguese-speaking organisation said he was convinced that, despite the limitations of São Tomé and Príncipe, his country’s leadership had “made a clear mark” on a presidency focused on the theme of “youth and sustainability in the CPLP”.
“A conscious choice that reflected the need to prepare the present with an eye to the future,” Carlos Vila Nova stressed.
Regarding the Guinea-Bissau presidency, the São Tomé leader said he was confident and optimistic about the work to be carried out over the next two years by Umaro Sissoco Embaló, under the slogan: “The CPLP and food sovereignty, the path to sustainable development”.
The outgoing president of the Portuguese-speaking organisation said that the theme opens a new chapter and calls on the CPLP to engage in a central debate for the present and future of the peoples of the nine countries at a time, he said, when food insecurity threatens millions of people and some countries in the community.
“To speak of food sovereignty is to speak of dignity of life, it is to place the right to food as a fundamental pillar of the development agenda,” observed Carlos Vila Nova, highlighting the importance of the theme chosen by the Guinea-Bissau presidency.
The São Toméan President argues that the theme, in addition to being urgent, offers opportunities for agricultural cooperation, enhancement of local production, technical exchange and strengthening of food chains.
The CPLP includes Angola, Brazil, Cabo Verde, Guinea-Bissau, Equatorial Guinea, Mozambique, Portugal, São Tomé and Príncipe and Timor-Leste.
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