Guinea Bissau crisis to feature in next CPLP ministerial conference

Login

Register

http://www.clubofmozambique.com/

Guinea Bissau crisis to feature in next CPLP ministerial conference

11:04 CAT | 18 Feb 2016

In file Club of Mozambique.

The political crisis in Guinea Bissau will be discussed during the forthcoming extraordinary ministerial conference of the Community of Portuguese Speaking Countries (CPLP) to be held in Lisbon in March.

The revelations in this regard were made on Sunday by East Timor’s Foreign Minister Hernani Coelho who was on a visit to Bissau.

Coelho said CPLP will analyse the Guinea Bissau crisis during the Lisbon meeting in order to propose solutions to the crisis.

Accompanied by the organization’s Executive Secretary Murade Murargy from Mozambique, the chief diplomat from East Timor which currently chairs CPLP, met with Guinea Bissau President Jose Mario Vaz with whom he discussed the situation in the country.

“The president gave a general overview of the nation, the challenges and prospects for the future,” Coelho said, adding that his mission to Bissau was not aimed at mediating the country’s crisis.

The CPLP mission came to Bissau to understand what was done by Guinea Bissau authorities following last year’s roundtable with partners in Bruxelles.

At the end of the roundtable that was held in March, international partners promised to give Guinea Bissau 1.5 billion U.S. dollars to support the country’s 2015-2020 strategic plan.

However, persistent political crises have delayed the actualization of these promises.

The current crisis was caused by the decision by Parliament to expel 15 members of parliament elected on the ticket of the African Party for the Independence of Guinea and Cape Verde, the majority party, after they refused to support the government’s program in parliament.

The affected members of parliament refused to abide by the decision, terming it illegal. They filed a case in court seeking the cancellation of the decision by Parliament to replace them.

A conciliation meeting called by the president of the republic was boycotted by PAIGC and parliament.

While awaiting the resolution of the crisis, the parliamentary session scheduled to start on Feb. 15 to adopt this year’s budget was postponed to Feb. 25, 2016.

Source: Xinhua