Mozambique: SERNIC switched from Interior Ministry to PGR - AIM report
File photo: Lusa
The President of Equatorial Guinea. Teodoro Obiang, says terrorism in Cabo Delgado, in northern Mozambique, should be of concern to the Community of Portuguese Speaking Countries (CPLP).
Equatorial Guinea has, since Wednesday, been the meeting point for heads of state, ministers, bankers, diplomats and businesspeople from the Community of Portuguese Speaking Countries (CPLP). Their goal is to discuss, at the first-ever CPLP Business Confederation Business Summit, ways to attract investments to the countries in bloc, as well as strengthening economic ties between member states and improving the business environment.
Two hours before the event, businesspeople from the nine CPLP countries were catching up and exchanging impressions while the guests of honour, including members of the government of Equatorial Guinea, arrived.
The attendance of the President of Equatorial Guinea was confirmed 48 hours before the summit, but postponed at the last minute. The same scenario played out with Sao Tome and Principe, the two presidents making their interventions through digital platforms, as did the head of state of Guinea Bissau and the executive secretary of the CPLP.
Mozambique was not represented by any member of the government.
In his speech to the summit, the President of Equatorial Guinea, Teodoro Obiang, expressed concern about terrorism in Cabo Delgado, northern Mozambique, and said it should also concern the CPLP countries.
“The Republic of Mozambique is the scene of aggressions perpetrated, planned and financed from outside its borders, claiming human lives, displacing populations, destroying personal and public property, and sowing terror in the north of the country,” he said.
Obiang believes that the CPLP “should not remain oblivious to this tragedy, which goes beyond the dimensions of a simple internal conflict. It is an aggression”.
Addressing the business summit, Teodoro Obiang characterised it as an opportunity to identify the challenges the bloc faces and seek ways to facilitate trade between CPLP countries as well as attracting more investment.
“Our wish is that the business community takes this opportunity to form a common front when it comes to facing the challenges that affect its activity. It should also make the most of its respective advantages to participate actively in promoting economic cooperation among the CPLP countries, always having as priority the member countries of our community,” the Equatorial Guinea president said.
The President of Cape Verde, Jorge Carlos Fonseca, also participated in the summit virtually, advocating the creation of customs facilities for CPLP countries within the bloc.
“There is an urgent need to create joint solutions for the reciprocal protection of investments, reducing, or even eliminating, where possible, double taxation, and facilitating the circulation of public documents within our community without excessive authentication and notarisation burdens,” he urged.
The President of Sao Tome and Principe, Evaristo Carvalho, spoke of the need for investments in the CPLP countries to be sustainable, especially in Equatorial Guinea, which was experiencing a boom in mineral resources.
“Our appeal is to look at the country with confidence, stripped of a culture of short-termism. With thought for the country’s development, let’s seek sustainable solutions and invest in the medium and long term, he advised.
The opening of the first Business Summit of the CPLP Business Confederation coincided with the celebration of the World Portuguese Language Day. Portuguese has around 300 million speakers spread across four continents.
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