Praia, Oct. 30, 2024 (Lusa) - Cabo Verde's minister of transport and tourism will present proposals for extending the Community of Portuguese Language Countries (CPLP) labour mobility agreement to the meeting of tourism ministers this Thursday in Sao Tome.
"We will also be presenting our ideas and proposals to the other partners on extending the labour mobility agreement to all countries, especially our Portuguese-speaking African friends," said Carlos Santos, quoted on Wednesday by Inforpress - Cabo Verde's News Agency.
The proposals will be presented at the XII Meeting of Tourism Ministers of the CPLP, at a time when labour training is one of the most debated issues in the sector.
"We've been considering in all the forums we take part in that this can be an excellent instrument for fighting poverty and that's one of the messages we want to leave, in addition to other proposals we'll be taking to this meeting," he added.
The issue has sparked discussion in political circles.
At the end of September, Olavo Correia, Cabo Verde's deputy prime minister, criticised the lack of mobility within the CPLP, while proposing regulation of emigration within the community, which he characterised as a "great opportunity" for all member states.
"The Brasília agreements [signed in 2021] to facilitate movement between the CPLP countries remain, in essence, I won't say 'dead letter', but of little use; the difficulties and restrictions on the movement of goods, services and capital remain and, in some cases, have even become worse," criticised Olavo Correia, in a presentation at the Second Economists" Forum of ALECON - Lusophone Economics Association, in Lisbon.
"As the leader of the CPLP and Lusophony, when I see artists, entrepreneurs, talented young people who can't get a visa to travel within the CPLP, almost begging to get a visa - and here we are talking about the CPLP as a space of freedom - there is a great contradiction here," added Cabo Verde's leader.
Founded in 1996, the CPLP currently includes nine countries - Angola, Brazil, Cabo Verde, Guinea-Bissau, Equatorial Guinea, Mozambique, Portugal, Sao Tome and Principe and Timor-Leste.
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