The executive secretary of the Community of Portuguese-Speaking Countries said today in São Tomé that he wants to evaluate with the Portuguese government the first months of implementation of the mobility agreement, looking for solutions to speed up the process.
Asked by Lusa about the CPLP’s view on the increase in the flow of migrants from African countries in the Lusophone community, mostly to Portugal, Zacarias da Costa said that the secretariat and ambassadors to the CPLP were analysing the situation with the former Portuguese government, so he hopes to continue the process.
“We now have a new government [in Portugal] and we’re hoping that we can also have this opportunity to jointly assess what the first few months of the implementation of the mobility agreement have been like, to look at the challenges we’ve had, some of the constraints and naturally to look for solutions together with the Portuguese government to obviate and also speed up this mobility of citizens,” said Zacarias da Costa.
Asked about reports that CPLP visas issued by Portugal to CPLP citizens will expire in June, the executive secretary said that he had not received official information from the Portuguese government.
“This information actually appeared in the media when the previous government was already in office, so I can’t confirm this news here […] but I want to once again reiterate our firm will to work with the Portuguese authorities so that an agreement that was also signed by Portugal, which was the first country to adapt its internal legislation, so that everything can be fulfilled within the normality of operation,” he reacted.
Zacarias da Costa admitted that “certainly many citizens of the CPLP are looking for more Portugal”, noting that it is important to note that Portugal is now “also going through a phase in which new institutions are being set up”.
“It’s important to ensure that our citizens can move around safely, especially with their documents, so that they can look to their dreams and their prospects being better in the very near future,” emphasised Zacarias da Costa on the sidelines of the 18th Conference of Ministers of Justice of Portuguese Speaking Countries (CMJPLOP), which took place today in São Tomé.
Lusa
