Mozambique hosts CPLP assembly and assumes presidency

More than 100 delegates, including presidents of parliaments, from the member states of the Community of Portuguese Language Countries (CPLP) will participate this Monday and Tuesday, in Maputo, in the 14th Parliamentary Assembly, a body that Mozambique now leads .

According to information provided by Deputy Feliz Sílvia, head of the national group of the Assembly of the Republic of Mozambique within the CPLP, debates on the promotion of peace, democracy and good governance in the CPLP countries were scheduled for the two days.

The meeting will be opened this morning at the Joaquim Chissano International Conference Center in Maputo by Mozambican President Daniel Chapo.

The Portuguese parliament will be represented during these two days of work by deputy Pedro Alves (PSD), from Portugal's parliamentary delegation to that CPLP body.

Meetings of the presidents of the CPLP parliaments, the standing committees and networks of the CPLP Parliamentary Assembly, and meetings of the presidents of the national parliamentary groups are also planned, according to the event program, which also includes the announcement of the country to host the 15th meeting of the body next year.

At the 14th Parliamentary Assembly of the Community of Portuguese-Speaking Countries (AP-CPLP), Mozambique will assume the rotating presidency of the body, succeeding Equatorial Guinea, in a mandate focused on peace and inclusion.

According to information from Feliz Sílvia, also head of the parliamentary bench of the Mozambique Liberation Front (Frelimo, in power), in her two-year term Mozambique will focus on strengthening democracy and the rule of law and monitoring the implementation of the mobility agreement between member countries, including holding periodic meetings between members with a view to ensuring agreements that facilitate mobility within the CPLP.

The official also said that Mozambique will focus on attracting private investment by harmonizing customs and tax rates among member countries and promoting the Portuguese language and culture of CPLP countries.

On Sunday, Feliz Sílvia announced that members of the National Group of the Guinea-Bissau parliament had canceled their participation in the meeting.

"We had confirmation from Guinea-Bissau, but at the last minute they canceled their visit, which would have been represented by the head of the national group," he said.

Guinean President Umaro Sissoco Embaló dissolved the country's parliament in December 2023, before the 12 months established by the Constitution had passed since the legislative elections won by the Inclusive Alliance Platform (PAI-Terra Ranka), led by the African Party for the Independence of Guinea and Cape Verde (PAIGC).

In July 2024, Mozambique hosted the annual meeting, the 13th ordinary session, of the AP-CPLP, under the chairmanship of the President of the Senate of Equatorial Guinea, Teresa Efua Asangono, a country that expressed difficulty in hosting the annual event.

Founded in 1996, the CPLP comprises nine countries — Angola, Brazil, Cape Verde, Guinea-Bissau, Equatorial Guinea, Mozambique, Portugal, São Tomé and Príncipe and East Timor.