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

Honourable Heads of State and of Government, Dear Friends,
Honourable Ministers,
Honourable President of the AU Commission,
Honourable Executive Secretary of CPLP,
Honourable CPLP Goodwill Ambassador and United Nations Special Envoy for the fight against Tuberculosis,
Honourable Representatives of the European Commission, of CEDEAO, of FAO, of UNESCO and of UNO/AIDS,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

The Community of Portuguese Speaking Countries was launched, in July of 1996, in the exact place where we now are.

12 years later, it is a great honour and satisfaction to again welcome, in Lisbon, the CPLP family in this VII Conference of Heads of State and of Government of our Community.

The presence in this Summit of a large number of States and organizations with whom CPLP maintains special bonds of cooperation is the best proof of its success.

To all of you I wish to address a warm word of welcome and of recognition for the determination with which you have contributed towards the strengthening of the role of CPLP in the most diversified fields.

The holding of Conferences of Heads of State and of Government is, simultaneously, a moment of balancing and strengthening of future commitments.

Although there is much we have not yet been able to accomplish, the results of these initial 12 years are certainly positive.

At once, in a moment which to all of us must remain unforgettable, and towards which CPLP greatly contributed, East Timor joined this Community in May 2002. The number of Associate Observers and of Organizations with which CPLP cooperates regularly has grown. Its own Parliamentary Assembly was set up. CPLP was involved in the many events that marked the international agenda.

Our countries already dispense in these days a great effort in the coordination and politico-diplomatic consultation of a growing number of sectors of common interest; marshal their intervention in international forums and provide mutual support, with excellent results, in the presentation of candidacies to international organizations.

Each of us belongs to one of the most relevant regional geopolitical groups, such as the European Union, Mercosur, SADC or CEDEAO, and also ASEAN in the near future, thus strengthening the international visibility of CPLP.

These 12 years in the life of our organization also allowed us to strengthen the values of Peace, Democracy and the Rule of Law, of Human Rights, of Development and of Social Justice, consecrated in the Constitutional Declaration of CPLP, approved by all Member States.

The challenges which we all face clearly show the strategic value of Organizations such as ours, which allows States to act in concert in the international scenario.

With this in view, our common objective is to strengthen CPLP, providing it with the required conditions to answer such challenges effectively.

This Summit will be an opportunity to discuss some of the collective issues of our time and to assess which are the areas where our cooperation may achieve an added value relative to the efforts of each of the Member States individually.

It is necessary to focus CPLP’s action to obtain definite results. CPLP must be present in the day-to-day affairs of our peoples. It is everyone’s responsibility to promote a more active participation of our countries’ civil societies in the life of our Community.

A Community which is open to the world and to cooperation with other areas and organizations that share our ideals and that may contribute towards the achievement of our objectives.

We must answer collective challenges with collective remedies.

The theme chosen for the VII Summit of Heads of State and of Government – “The Portuguese Language as a Common Heritage, Global Future” – could not be more to the point.

In the Constitutional Declaration of CPLP we recognize that the Portuguese Language is “an historical bond and a common heritage resulting from a centuries’ old coexistence which must be given value”, specifically as “a privileged means for the dissemination of cultural creativity between the Portuguese speaking peoples and for the international projection of their cultural values within an open and universal perspective”.

The promotion and valuation of the Portuguese language and of the cultural values common to our countries is a permanent objective of our community. In the growingly global world in which we live the Portuguese language is a fundamental asset for the defence and international assertion of our countries and our way of viewing the world.

I am certain that this Summit will provide an ample and full discussion from which guidance will surge towards the deepening of a common strategy for the promotion and valuation of the Portuguese language in the world.

I would like to address a word of thanks to the Ministers of Foreign Affairs, as well as to the groups of technical coordination that toiled with great dedication in the preparation of this Summit, and whose work will become an excellent basis for the decisions which we will take throughout the meeting.