Migration authorities from the Community of Portuguese Language Countries (CPLP) defended on Wednesday, in Luanda, the need for training, cooperation, trust-building among police forces, legislative harmonization, digitalization, and the elimination of bureaucracy in consular entities to ensure “safe and regulated migration.”
The proposals to curb irregular migration within the CPLP space were presented during the International Seminar on Public Security, held as part of the 6th Meeting of Ministers of the Interior and Internal Administration of the CPLP.
“The Phenomenon of Irregular Migration and Its Implications for the National Security of CPLP Member States” was the theme addressed during the seminar, where speakers agreed on the need for information sharing and police cooperation within the Portuguese-speaking community.
According to General Jorge Ludovino Bolas, commander of the Coastal and Border Control Unit of Portugal’s National Republican Guard (GNR), it is time to implement the CPLP’s action plan on migration and foreign affairs, moving from theory to practical cooperation.
“I believe this action plan — which turns ideas into reality — is what makes the difference between institutions or organizations. We need to step out of the realm of theory and good intentions and move into execution, to make things happen,” said the GNR commander.
Ludovino Bolas also stressed the importance of joint training for CPLP migration authorities, arguing that it would help standardize operational approaches and build trust among forces.
Chief Superintendent Francisco Lumaka, trainer at Angola’s School of Migration and Foreigners, highlighted the CPLP’s key role in legislative harmonization, stating:
“There is a great opportunity here for the community to work toward legislative harmonization. Looking ahead, perhaps we could even establish a CPLP observatory on migration flows — why not?”
Meanwhile, Hugo Alexandre de Jesus Palma, director of the Central Unit for Foreigners and Borders of Portugal’s Public Security Police (PSP), called for the debureaucratization and digitalization of consular services to ensure faster visa processing and thus a “safe and regulated migration.”
Consular authorities, he said, “must be able to respond effectively to regulated migration, avoid getting lost in bureaucracy, and provide quick answers to visa or residence permit applications.”
“These actions reduce the risk of system abuse, lower corruption potential, minimize natural losses caused by bureaucracy, and allow people who want to travel, study, or work abroad to do so quickly and safely,” observed Hugo Palma.
Zainadine Danane, Director of Migration of Mozambique, said there are still “restrictive barriers” between CPLP member states that need to be removed to guarantee secure migration within the Lusophone bloc, and called for a more integrated response from migration services.
Meanwhile, Commissioner Manuel Nascimento, Director of the Foreigners and Borders Directorate of Cape Verde, cited maritime border control as the island nation’s “first major challenge,” particularly regarding the monitoring of leisure vessels navigating among Cape Verde’s ten islands.
“And, as with all police forces, resources are always limited, despite the most recent legislative amendment that created nine new maritime border control posts,” he noted.
Source: Lusa
