Minister of State and Coordinator of Economic Affairs and Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries Estanislau da Silva speaks at the event (Photo: VNA)
Dili (VNA) - The second meeting of trade ministers of the Community of Portuguese-speaking Countries (CPLP) took place in Timor Leste’s capital city of Dili on February 23.
One of the main themes of the meeting is related to the preparation of “a concept of strategic and conceptual action” for development of trade and investment in the CPLP.
The meeting, which will also take stock of implementation of measures agreed at the first meeting in Luanda, Angola, in May 2012, is part of efforts of Timor-Leste’s presidency of the CPLP to foster trade relations between the member countries.
Also high on the agenda is greater internationalisation of CPLP companies and, in the case of Timor-Leste, making the country a bridge for the Asia and Pacific markets.
CPLP is a multilateral forum created to deepen mutual friendship and cooperation among its member states.
Through successive enlargements, the community has grown from the seven founding states - Angola , Brazil , Cape Verde , Guinea-Bissau , Mozambique, Portugal, and São Tomé and Príncipe - to the current nine, with the self-determination of Timor-Leste in 2002 and the accession of Equatorial Guinea in 2014.
The community is growing from a cultural background to a geopolitical and economical community, as the CPLP is the fourth largest producer of oil in the world and more nations are seeking to enter the organisation, such as Turkey and Indonesia.-VNA
