22 years of the CPLP: Portuguese speaking private sector seeks market solutions in Maputo – Watch

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22 years of the CPLP: Portuguese speaking private sector seeks market solutions in Maputo – Watch

12:42 CAT | 10 May 2018

Notícias

The private sector in the countries of the Community of Portuguese Speaking Countries (CPLP) is seeking solutions to the challenges that entrepreneurs face in developing activities in this block of nations.

To this end, some 350 individuals, including entrepreneurs, public foreign trade agencies and members of the government of member countries are meeting since yesterday in Maputo at the first CPLP Market Economy Conference.

The event is organised by the Business Confederation of the Community of Portuguese Speaking Countries (CE-CPLP) and aims to improve the movement of people, goods, services and capital between community members.

Chairman of the CPLP Business Confederation Salimo Abdula said that the Economic Market Conference, besides being a historical milestone in building an increasingly strong, united and cohesive trade bloc, was the starting point for improving the business environment of member countries, and consequently creating more jobs, increasing income and profit, with a consequent substantial improvement in the well-being of the population.

“This conference is the formalisation of private sector concerns and ideas, and believes that a greater and better articulation of the CPLP governments is necessary to eliminate administrative and legal barriers impeding the free circulation of people, goods and capital within our brother countries,” he said.

According to Abdula, despite the CPLP’s potential to become a stable and balanced economic community with a level of quality and competitiveness equal to or greater than other world trading blocs, this goal cannot be achieved if current barriers persist.

“We are a comprehensive community of people with the potential to be self-sustaining and a world leader in sectors such as tourism, energy, oil and gas and so on. We have abundant resources, such as land, sea, a young work force and mineral resources, but unfortunately I think we still have very low use of these resources because of the bureaucratic obstacles that persist in impeding the free movement of people, goods and capital,” Salimo said.

Speaking In turn, Maria do Carmo Silveira, executive secretary of the CPLP, said that the CPLP market had about 270 million consumers and produced about four percent of all the wealth on the planet.

“Throughout these 22 years we have been able to build an organisation based on values of peace, mutual respect and the defence of democracy and human rights. We have built a space for political and diplomatic concentration, sharing and solidarity,” she said.

Topics such as mobility and the recognition of professions within the CPLP, double taxation, visas, investment promotion and capital movement and the establishing of a CPLP Arbitration Court are being debated at the event.