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

I wish to start by showing my recognition for the work carried out by the Mozambican Presidency of CPLP, whose mandate is now terminating. Mister President Armando Guebuza, dear Friend, Mozambique’s drive and especially that of Your Excellency, during the last two years, are deserving of my deep appreciation.

To our host, Mister President Taur Matan Ruak, dear Friend, I wish to express my thanks for the warm and fraternal hospitality with which we have been welcomed in Dili. I also wish to offer you my congratulations for the professionalism and strictness employed in the organization of this Conference of Heads of State and of Government. I equally wish Your Excellency the best of success in the Presidency which you are now called upon to undertake.

The importance I attribute to these meetings has always been the motive for my presence. This is my fifth Summit.

In all of them I have felt, as I once again verify, that there exists amongst us a true fraternal spirit and a natural proximity. As in any other community we share features of identity, but also a code of guiding principles. Truly special is the unambiguous option, as real today as it was 18 years ago, for the construction of a future common project, embodying the feelings and the wishes of our peoples.

The topic under discussion – “CPLP and Globalization” – calls upon us to consider our Community almost in genetic terms. The presentation of proposals to face the new global challenges necessarily concerns what intrinsically characterizes and distinguishes us.

Heads of State and of Government,
We are a global organization. Our Community comprises states that stretch over four continents, and this has not reduced our capability for understanding and our close cooperation for joint undertakings and mutual support.

CPLP is growingly asserting itself as a body of reference in the current world. The syntheses which it has been able to create in the most diversified international issues, notwithstanding the different national and regional sensitivities which are present in the organization, are at the basis of this understanding.

The existing levels of comprehension that exist amongst our countries, the political and diplomatic assent and the wide and multisided cooperation are fundamental pillars of our Community and keys to a more internationally relevant future.

The valuing of CPLP, as an international player, strengthens the position of each of our countries in the several international stages where we are represented. It is thus our duty to invest in a more than ever intense and broad fold, embracing the most diverse levels, complementing all the international organizations in which we belong and in which we must insist on the “CPLP version” on the issues which are of greater interest to our states.

The recent developments in Guinea Bissau have shown how positions of solidarity, coherent and faithful with the basic principles of our Community, have decisively contributed towards the restoration of legitimate and constitutional order. The roles of CPLP and of each Member State, in the United Nations, in the African Union and in the European Union were determining factors towards the current environment of hope in Guinea Bissau.

I want to salute President Mário Vaz, whom I had the privilege to receive in Portugal as President elect. Mister President, we are very pleased to welcome the return of Guinea Bissau to the tasks of CPLP. I reiterate Portugal’s availability to continue supporting the efforts for peace and development carried out by Guinea Bissau.

It is also important to underline the growing interest of other States from several continents, in becoming CPLP Associated Observers. The candidacies of Georgia, Namibia, Turkey and Japan open up new opportunities of cooperation and for CPLP’s worldwide projection.

On another hand, the increase in the number of Consulting Observers is a relevant means to extend the reach of the CPLP civil society.
Heads of State and of Government,

The cooperation in the midst of CPLP is nowadays extensive to the most diversified issues and involves an ever growing number of sectors in our societies. Its results are becoming more than ever visible.

When reflecting upon CPLP’s future role in a global context, it is necessary to underline the need for a stronger and more dynamic political commitment. The theoretical and institutional framework is already in existence. And it is under the process of improvement. It is however crucial that political efforts are pursued in order that an effective implementation of our common project achieves visible results in the day-to-day lives of our peoples.

It is our duty to promote policies that encourage greater proximity amongst our societies and economies. The challenge is complex. We are well aware that belonging to diversified regional areas implies constraints in such a process. However, within the field of our standardized frameworks, much has already been carried out and the margin for progress is encouraging.

Establishing a more informal and encompassing cooperation could be driven forward as, for instance, at the level of university and scientific cooperation, development of knowledge networks, interchange of students, authors and artists, of entrepreneurial contacts or of CPLP countries Diaspora networks.

As I already had the occasion to refer, CPLP must be opened up to the contributions of its citizens, specifically those of the younger people, in order that these consider it as something that belongs to them and that brings real added value to their lives.

Dear Friends,
In this project for the future, Portuguese language has a primary role. It was one of the first factors of approach and one of the signs that identifies and distinguishes us. Portuguese language as a strategic asset is a CPLP political option. In this context, language and cultures must be considered as axes which are mutually reinforced. The fact that the Portuguese language comprises pluralities, which arise from its being open and shared by different countries and cultures, provides it with an added intrinsic value. Its cultural, economic, geopolitical and scientific value is undeniable.

The choice of the topic “Portuguese Language: Common and Future Global Heritage” for the Lisbon CPLP Summit, during the Portuguese Presidency, endeavoured the launching of a reflection on the importance of the language for CPLP in the context of globalization. At that time, the relevance was emphasized in the bringing together of efforts and of the strategy in the pursuance of policies that internationally projected and asserted the Portuguese Language. The path of the Brasília Action Plan was prepared and, more recently, the Lisbon Action Plan, which we should adopt here.

Portuguese language has nowadays legitimate global claims. Portuguese is today the official language of several international organizations.

The global level of Portuguese is also projected by the Diasporas of Portuguese speaking countries and by the interest its learning as a foreign language has occasioned all over the world, making it one of the idioms with greater expansion. This interest truly shows the importance of valuing the language as a competitive advantage.

The Lisbon Action Plan established two relevant future objectives: Portuguese language in the strengthening of entrepreneurialism and creative economy; Portuguese language in scientific and innovation development.

Investment in the effective implementation of the guiding lines arising from Summits and from the Lisbon Action Plan must be real and unequivocal. Internationalization of the Portuguese language is one of the features of the maturity of CPLP.

Heads of State and of Government,
The appealing potential of our Community and the international recognition of CPLP are based upon the number of identity values that we share, such as the Portuguese language and the founding principles of defence of Peace, democratic Rule of Law, Human Rights and economic and social development.

It is thus fundamental that we continue to make clear, now and in the future, that these are the values that will always determine our decisions and our initiatives.

Looking over the 18 years we have treaded, I cannot but feel pride on what we have been able to build, solidly and convincingly. Investing in CPLP is, more than ever, an investment in the future. It still has much potential to be exploited, but it has provided proof that it is able to carry it out.

The familiarity that brings us together and our common ethics are the main impelling forces of our union. Our actions outside the CPLP context, ruled by a common reference framework, are conductive for the projection of our Community.

Portugal has, nowadays, within the context of the European Union, a word to be reckoned with in any issues relating to CPLP countries. This position with our European partners was the result of Portuguese postures consistently connected to the definition of CPLP as a central axis of our foreign policy.

CPLP is already a priority in the foreign policies of our eight Countries, but the strengthening of its credibility demands from us an added commitment to “be CPLP”, proactively, in the bilateral and multilateral stages in which each of us is a player.

East Timor was an eloquent example of our common project. The construction and consolidation of a State of democratic rule of law in East Timor was a case of reference and success. The basic establishment of democratic institutions in East Timor owes much to the cooperation and solidarity in the midst of CPLP, such as CPLP owes much to the success of Timorese democracy.

The Timorese presidency which is now beginning is a source of hope for a renewed projection of the capability for action and influence of our Community.

My Dear Friends,
CPLP’s role in globalization and its future path have much in common with the complete materialization of CPLP’s fundamental principles. These constitute indeed thee compass for a more than ever demanding navigation. Proof has already been provided that our ship is solid and our sailors daring.

Since this is my last Summit, I wish to end my address thanking you all for your friendship, your availability and excellent cooperation. Our belonging to an area that surpasses geography to become a means of deportment, of feeling and of acting demands that we create the conditions for a more than ever solid and expedite action. This was hat drove me as Prime Minister and President of the Republic and, always, as citizen of the Community of Portuguese Speaking Countries.

Thank you very much