Prime Minister notes the importance of the mobility of citizens in the Portuguese-speaking Community

The Portuguese Prime Minister António Costa noted the importance of the mobility of citizens within the Community of Portuguese-speaking Countries at the ceremony where he delivered to the CPLP Executive Secretary, Zacarias da Costa, the instrument whereby Portugal ratified the Agreement on Mobility between the organization’s member states, at the CPLP’s headquarters in Lisbon.

António Costa said that "this community has proven over 25 years a large capacity for cooperation at the international political level in various fora. It has shown great economic vitality through the companies in our different countries. Yet the most important dynamic of our community is the one between our peoples, and it has here a highly significant milestone".

The Agreement on Mobility "is not just another agreement", rather "a very important act of political affirmation", the reason why the Prime Minister "wanted to deliver in person the letter ratifying an international agreement".

Political significance

"My presence, together with the Minister of Foreign Affairs [Augusto Santos Silva] and the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs and Cooperation [Francisco André], represents the political significance Portugal offers to celebrating this mobility agreement", he said.

The Prime Minister invited the member states who haven’t yet ratified the mobility agreement, to do so. "We say our borders are well set. Now, what matters is to open the doors for our peoples to do what they naturally do, which is circulate within the same language space, the space that is familiar to them".

António Costa claimed it is very important to "create the conditions for this circulation to flow". "It is incredibly important from the economic perspective, yet also from a cultural point of view, and close human relations". 

"It is difficult to understand why we need to apply for a visa, why we need to show a visa when in fact we all feel part of the same community", he added.

Fundamental changes

The CPLP Executive Secretary, Zacarias da Costa, claimed that "the agreement paves the way for fundamental shifts in the mobility paradigm, as it goes way beyond a set of piecemeal measures, establishing instead a true legal framework with flexibilization mechanisms to facilitate cooperation in this area".

"This is a model that envisages a range of progressive implementation solutions, based on mobility instruments, such as short stays, temporary stay visas, and residence permits", Zacarias da Costa reported.

"In an organization like the CPLP, which comes from incredibly strong historical ties, constantly renewed by a shared language, friendship among the states, numerous communities and strong family ties, fostering mobility is fostering the organization proper", he added.

Mobility agreement

With Portugal’s ratification, the Agreement on Mobility enters into force on 1 January.

The CPLP agreement on mobility was approved at the organization’s most recent summit in Luanda and has already been ratified by four of the nine countries that are part of the Portuguese-speaking community, currently chaired by Angola.

Cape Verde, Mozambique, Portugal, and São Tomé e Príncipe have ratified the agreement and it has already been approved by the Angolan parliament.

The agreement enters into force on the first day of the month following the date in which three member states delivered the instruments ratifying the agreement, accepting or approving it at the CPLP headquarters.

The agreement will then be submitted for registering with the Secretariat of the United Nations, and each country will then be responsible for legislating on how to facilitate the circulation of people between the signatory countries.

The states will be given a range of solutions that allow them to take on commitments on mobility progressively and with different levels of integration, taking into account their internal specificities, their political, social, and administrative dimension.

Angola, Brazil, Cape Verde, Guinea-Bissau, Equatorial Guinea, Mozambique, Portugal, São Tomé e Príncipe, and East Timor are the nine member states of the CPLP, which celebrates 25 years this year.