Lisbon, 2 July 2021/OACPS: Secretary-General of the Organisation of African, Caribbean and Pacific States (OACPS), H.E. Mr Georges Rebelo Pinto Chikoti signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) for future cooperation in several areas with the Community of Portuguese-Language Countries (CPLP) on 25 June 2021 at the Headquarters of the CPLP in Lisbon, Portugal.

Executive Secretary of the CPLP, H.E. Mr. Francisco Ribeiro Telles, signed the memorandum, on behalf of the CPLP, describing the Memorandum as, “a starting point” for the two organisations to work together for the “development” of their member countries. H.E. Ribeiro Telles said that the signing of the MoU would “kick off … intense cooperation between the two organisations” and would help to ensure development cooperation in multiple areas.

Noting that the OACPS has several Portuguese-language members, Secretary-General Chikoti said that he wanted to make language “one of the elements” of cooperation with the CPLP. He also noted that the two organisations faced similar development challenges, such as the fight against poverty.

In addition to the language cooperation, the OACPS Secretary-General cited “issues that have to do with development” such as health and education as other areas of cooperation for the two organisations. He also alluded to defence and security, mentioning Cabo Delgado in northern Mozambique, which has been plagued by violent rebellion in recent years, and the “terrorist situation in the Sahel region”.

The memorandum of understanding was signed in the wake of a recent official trip to Brussels by a delegation led by H.E. Ribeiro Telles, during which he met with Secretary-General Chikoti.

Of the OACPS’ 79 Members, seven States are also members of the CPLP, namely: Angola, Cabo Verde, Timor-Leste, Equatorial Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Mozambique, and São Tomé and Príncipe.