Mozambique’s President Daniel Chapo has called on the Community of Portuguese Language Countries (CPLP) to evolve into a genuine ‘solidarity community’, moving beyond its role as a platform for economic and commercial cooperation.
Speaking on the occasion of the organisation’s 30th anniversary, Chapo argued that mutual dependence among member states should form the foundation of a more cohesive bloc.
‘Our community exists, it is an extraordinary market, and we believe we need to further consolidate economic and commercial cooperation among our peoples within the CPLP,’ Chapo said in a statement released to mark the milestone.
For the Mozambican head of state, the central challenge facing the CPLP is to reinforce the sense of community among its members, ensuring the organisation becomes more than a framework for trade and investment facilitation.
‘Cooperation within the CPLP is extremely important when we manage to transform the community into a true community,’ Chapo said, calling for closer ties among the lusophone grouping’s member countries.
‘What I mean by the concept of community is that each of us must understand that every country needs the other. And, needing one another, we must transform ourselves into a community that, beyond being cohesive and united, works to add value to trade and the economy,’ the president added.
Chapo was nonetheless clear that economic integration should not be the CPLP’s sole purpose.
‘Cooperation, yes, but solidarity is extremely important. Understanding that all of us, each one, needs the other,’ he said, arguing that member states should act as ‘brothers of the same community’.
According to the president, strengthening solidarity among member states will consolidate the concept of community within the CPLP, reinforcing unity and creating conditions for concrete benefits across the lusophone space.
‘The consolidation of the concept of community will undoubtedly bring the economic and social development that the entire community needs,’ Chapo concluded.
The CPLP was founded in Lisbon on 17 July 1996 by Angola, Brazil, Cabo Verde, Guinea-Bissau, Mozambique, Portugal, and São Tomé and Príncipe. Timor-Leste joined the organisation in 2002, following the restoration of its independence on 20 May of that year, while Equatorial Guinea became a member in 2014 at the summit held in Dili.
Source: Diário Económico
Original article: https://www.diarioeconomico.co.mz/2026/07/13/desenvolvimento-2/cplp-pr-defende-comunidade-de-solidariedade-para-reforcar-cooperacao-entre-paises-lusofonos/
