24 April 2010

Second CPLP Parliamentary Assembly

The AP-CPLP (Assembleia Parlamentar- Comunidade dos Países de Lingua Portuguesa/ Parliamentary Assembly- Community of Portuguese speaking Countries) is the body which brings together representatives of Parliaments of the Community.

AP-CPLP was established by the XII Council of Ministers of the CPLP (Lisbon, November 2007) and held its firts meeting in Sao Tome, capital of the Democratic Republic of Sao Tome and Principe on 27 and 28 April, 2009, which saw the participation of Representatives of the Parliaments of Angola, Cape Verde, Brazil, Guinea-Buissau, Mozambique, Portugal, Sao Tome and Principe and Timor-Leste.

The Timorese parliament was present in the founding act of this new body of the Lusophonic Community, representing the parliamentary component of the CPLP and constituting an indispensable mechanism for the deepening and strengthening of institutional links.

The AP-CPLP implies the direct involvement of parliaments in the institutional and political discussion and in the development process of the CPLP, whose enhancement could not be achieved without a parliamentary involvement.

In accordance with the political will at the origin of its creation, it is expected that in future the AP-CPLP will also be a democratic forum for the discussion of issues of common interest to Member States of the Community.

The second meeting of the AP-CPLP took place between 8 and 10 March in Lisbon. It was attended by parliamentarians from Angola, Cape Verde, Brazil, Guinea-Bissau, Mozambique, Portugal, Sao Tome and Principe and Timor-Leste.

The Timorese delegation was chaired by HE the Vice-President of the National Parliament, Mr. Vicente Guterres and composed of Mrs. Josefa Pereira, Mrs. Fernanda Lay and Mr. Paulo Martins, integrating also the Secretary General of the National Parliament, João Rui Amaral. The delegation was technical supported by UNDP Senior Legal Advisor to the President of Parliament, Mr. João Azevedo.


The themes on the agenda, themes proposed by the Sao Tome and Principe presidency and accepted by consensus, were the following:

• The CPLP and the International Economic and Political Situation
• Consideration of the Annual Report of Activities 2009/2010
• Strengthening the cooperation within the CPLP
• Consideration of the Annual Report of Activities of the Network of Women Parliamentarians of the CPLP
• The CPLP, the Portuguese language, the new Spelling agreement and the role of the International Portuguese Language Institute (ILP)
• Challenges and Agenda of the CPLP


The debate was marked by active participation by the Members of the Timorese National Parliament, and apart from the conclusions of a political nature, it was also decided to create Specialized Standing Committees, composed of Representatives of several national groups that will focus on:

• Policy, Strategy, Legislation and Citizenship
• Economy, Environment and Cooperation
• Language, Education and Culture


The closing session was marked by the intervention of Vice President of National Parliament of Timor-Leste, in which the Timorese Parliament called for a strengthening of political affirmation and projection of the Portuguese language, addressed the issue of multilateral cooperation within Portuguese speaking Countries, and outlined the prospects for the chairmanship of Timor-Leste’s AP -CPLP, during the period 2011/1012.

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