Welcome to the Official page of the Presidency of the Portuguese Republic

Honourable Presidents
Honourable Prime Ministers
Honourable Executive Secretary
Honourable Ministers
Ladies and Gentlemen,

To start with I wish to thank our host, President Nino Vieira, for the warm and friendly reception he has accorded us in Bissau.

I also wish to express my recognition to President Fradique de Menezes, who unfortunately cannot be present, for the earnestness and determination with which he guided the Presidency of CPLP, on behalf of São Tomé e Príncipe.

This is the first Summit of CPLP in which I take part. For this reason it is, for me, a very special moment. My commitment to the strengthening of the relations between our Countries is well known amongst us. I am firmly convinced that the assets represented by the ties that hold us together are an extraordinary trump for the international assertion of each of our countries. These days, to hold forth on one’s own and be heard is becoming more than ever difficult. However, in order to better capitalize on this trump we must learn how to establish objectives, assess our achievements and promote the conditions to achieve more and better in the future. The symbolism of the 10th anniversary of CPLP is a privileged moment for the purpose.

If it is true that there is much to be done, the past 10 years have already seen a number of important undertakings carried out in the midst of the founding pillars of our Community.

In these days, our States maintain regular meetings and promote intensive cooperation in such diverse fields as education, health, science and technology, defence, agriculture, public administration, communications, justice, public safety, culture, sports and the media.

Our countries already develop, today, a wide effort of political and diplomatic coordination and consultation in fields of common interest.

Simultaneously, each of our countries belongs to some of the more important geopolitical regional groups, strengthening in this way, as well, the international visibility of CPLP.

It was this Community that received, in May of 2002, and I say so with particular emotion, the brother nation of East Timor.

As had occurred in relation to Guinea-Bissau, CPLP was also called upon in the case of East Timor, to contribute towards overtaking critical situations. This responsible and equitable action was an important factor for the strengthening of the international credibility of our Community.

Making use of this occasion I sincerely wish that the new government of East Timor may rapidly overcome the challenges it faces, thus resuming its route towards the stability, peace and prosperity of its people.

Portugal will do its best, as it has done until now, either bilaterally or multilaterally, to answer the needs of East Timor. We must be ready to very shortly provide, within the framework of the future United Nations mission to East Timor, an enhanced contribution for this brother nation.

Honourable Presidents,

I wish to applaud the opportune theme for the VI Summit of the Heads of State and Government of CPLP - “The Objectives for Development of the Millennium: Challenges and Contributions of CPLP”

The Millennium Summit sought to direct the efforts of cooperation into eight priorities, the first of which to reduce extreme poverty by half until 2015.

I consider as very positive the commitment which we are proposing to assume today, in the sense of providing aims for the areas of cooperation to be developed in the future within CPLP, by giving priority to the substantiation of the “Millennium Development Objectives”, and, specifically, to the main objective of eliminating hunger and extreme poverty.

I believe CPLP can perform a particularly relevant role in arraigning the international resources made available by the institutions specialized in aiding development, or even in the promotion of partnerships between the public and private sectors to carry out cooperation actions within the sphere of the “Millennium Development Objectives”.

On the other hand, it is never too much to underline that real development will never occur without peace and democracy, as anyway is stated in practically all the international reports on issues of development, this being the reason why the continuity of the “Millennium Development Objectives” must always have in its background the promotion and valuation of democracy and Human Rights.

Within the Millennium Objectives which we selected to guide our cooperation, I wish to make particular reference to the fight against pandemic infectious diseases. Tuberculosis is one of them.

In this respect, Dr. Jorge Sampaio, Special Envoy of the United Nations Secretary General for the fight against tuberculosis, requested that I deliver the message which will be distributed to you.

I am totally supportive of the appeal that Dr. Jorge Sampaio is launching at us in order that we take advantage of this occasion to “seal a strong commitment so that the efforts and the cooperation in the fight against tuberculosis are intensified” specifically through the Global Plan “Stop Tuberculosis”.

Independently from the more or less optimistic assessments about the activities of CPLP during these first 10 years, we all recognize the need to further increase the opening towards the civil society.

I wish to applaud in this context the proposal to create the Parliamentary Assembly of CPLP. As I opportunely stated to the Speakers of the Parliaments who recently visited Lisbon, I believe it relevant that CPLP may avail itself, in the future, of an increased impulse from the national parliaments and in this way equally contribute for a closer approach of the peoples within the framework of CPLP.

In the perspective of opening up to the civil society I am pleased to recognize the important step we have taken today, in attributing the statute of Associate Observer to 18 institutions. But we have to go farther.

I believe that an area in which we should invest to a greater extent is in the strengthening of the interchange programme of students and teachers within the framework of CPLP. On the other hand, I am also of the opinion that we can and should increase the promotion and dissemination of the Portuguese language.

With more than 220 million Portuguese speaking people in the whole world, we must assure without constraints that our language is, nowadays, a powerful instrument of assertion of the countries of our Community. In this regard, I would propose that we assume the commitment to continue working towards the strengthening of the use of Portuguese in the framework of multilateral organizations and especially in that of the United Nations.

Honourable Presidents

A last word:

In spite of the accumulated experience during these initial 10 years, CPLP is still a young institution which requires the efforts of all of us to continue asserting itself and promoting its influence.

I believe that this Summit and the contributions put forward in different areas are an excellent starting point to face the future with optimism. I am optimistic as to the future of our Community. But we cannot forget that there is nothing that will substitute the political will of States, that nothing substitutes the ambition of a permanent wish to further our actions.

The years which follow will be years of strengthening the fellowship with those members which may eventually coma across difficult times; to deepen the knowledge and the mutual respect of our differences and of the areas where we have common interests and values to progress; and years to support the consolidation of the democratic institutions, socio-economic development and the international projection of CPLP.

Finally, should that be the wish of you all, Portugal would be pleased to host the next Conference of Heads of State and Government, in July of 2008.