Brazil wants to step up role in Portuguese-speaking community

Brazil’s Foreign Minister Carlos Alberto Franco França said that Brazil wants to strengthen its role in the Community of Portuguese Language Countries—CPLP in the original acronym—claiming that the payment of overdue contributions with the organization will be prioritized in the coming two years.

Set to end his first visit to Portugal today (Jul. 2), França met Thursday with CPLP Executive Secretary Francisco Ribeiro Telles. They talked about expanding the exchange between the organization and Brazil’s Alexandre de Gusmão Foundation to promote the Portuguese language and the community’s shared values. They also discussed Brazil’s efforts to pay overdue debts.

“My desire is that we can make an effort at the Economy Ministry to address these unfinished issues, not just with CPLP. There are others with other international entities, which the Bolsonaro administration inherited from previous governments,” the minister pointed out.

As per official data from March 2020, Brazil owed 1,536,907.37 euros, comprising two overdue yearly contributions of 768,453.68 each, one for 2019 and another for 2020.

Values

Also during the interview in Lisbon, the minister highlighted the role of the values of the Portuguese-speaking community, “starting with the wide geographic base encompassed by CPLP, now strengthened by the amount of observers [associates].”

Governed by private law, the Alexandre de Gusmão Foundation is directly linked to Brazil’s Ministry of Foreign Relations, and should, according to the minister, work alongside CPLP and rely on funding from Caixa Econômica Federal. “We will build partnerships with private entities, and, in the cultural field, we’ll have support from Caixa, a public bank.”

The minister said he hopes Brazil can “increase its participation at CPLP through events, seminars, public debates, and the publication of works.” “By giving the foundation a new lease of life, we may attract private partners and have a larger economic and financial presence, with private investments in joint programs that may be developed in Brazil, Portugal, or other CPLP country,” he stated.

Summit

The summit of CPLP’s heads of state and government will be held in Luanda, Angola, on July 16 and 17, celebrating the organization’s 15th anniversary. At the event, Brazil will be represented by vice-President Hamilton Mourão.

During the summit meeting, Angola will take up CPLP’s presidency, succeeding Cape Verde, which had its tenure extended for another year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Angola, Brazil, Cape Verde, Guinea-Bissau, Equatorial Guinea, Mozambique, Portugal, São Tomé and Príncipe, and East Timor are CPLP’s nine state members.

*With information from RTP – Rádio e Televisão de Portugal.