The Community of Portuguese-speaking Countries (
CPLP - Comunidade dos Países de Língua Portuguesa)
is the prime multilateral forum for forging stronger bonds of cooperation among its members. It comprises a population of over 230 million inhabitants and has a total area of 10,742,000 km².
Established on 17 July 1996, the Community of Portuguese-Speaking Countries (CPLP) comprises nine member states – Angola, Brazil, Cape Verde, Guinea-Bissau, Equatorial Guinea, Mozambique, Portugal, São Tomé and Príncipe, and Timor-Leste – and has legal personality and financial autonomy.
// The organisation’s general goals:
- Political/diplomatic consultation between member states, in particular to strengthen its presence on the international stage
- Cooperation in all fields, including those of education, health, science and technology, defence, agriculture, public administration, communications, justice, public safety, culture, sports, media and tourism
- The materialisation of projects to promote and disseminate the Portuguese language
// Currently (2025–2026)
- CPLP Presidency (rotating presidency of the organisation): currently held by Timor-Leste, which assumed the presidency at the Conference of Heads of State and Government held in July 2025 in Bissau. The CPLP presidency is held by a member state on a rotating basis for two-year terms.
- Executive Secretary of the CPLP: Ambassador Maria de Fátima Monteiro Jardim (from Angola). She was elected on 18 July 2025 for a two-year term during the same Conference of Heads of State and Government.
// Tourism in the CPLP
In June 1998, tourism began to be a focus of the Sectorial Ministerial meetings with the first Conference of CPLP Tourism Ministers, with the ministerial meetings being scheduled to take place every two years. Sectoral Ministerial Meetings shall consist of Ministers and State Secretaries from the different sectors of government of all Member States. The Ministerial Meetings are responsible for coordinating, at ministerial or equivalent level, the concertation and cooperation actions in the respective government sectors.
- The 1st Meeting of CPLP Tourism Ministers was held in Lisbon in June 1998.
- After a six-year interruption, the meetings were resumed in 2004, at Portugal's initiative, when the 2nd Meeting of Tourism Ministers was held in Lisbon and approved a Cooperation Plan. Since then, the Conferences have been held annually or every two years.
- The 3rd Meeting of CPLP Tourism Ministers was held in Luanda in 2005 and the 4th Meeting in Lisbon in 2007.
- The 5th Meeting of CPLP Tourism Ministers was held in Guinea Bissau in August 2008. At the request of Guinea-Bissau, Portugal was involved in the organisation of this event through technical and logistical support. It was agreed that the Conferences of Tourism Ministers would be held every two years and a Technical Committee was set up, made up of the Member Countries' Tourism Focal Points and responsible for monitoring and developing the initiatives under the Action Plan.
- The 6th Meeting of CPLP Tourism Ministers was held in São Paulo on 25 May 2010. At the meeting, the São Paulo Declaration and the Rules of Procedure of the Meeting of CPLP Tourism Ministers were signed.
- In March 2013, the 7th Meeting of CPLP Tourism Ministers took place in Mozambique, where the Maputo Declaration, the Internal Regulations of the Meeting of CPLP Tourism Ministers was approved, along with the 2013-2014 Action Plan.
- In July 2015, the 8th Meeting of CPLP Tourism Ministers was held in Dili during which the Dili Declaration and a Plan of Action for 2015-2017 were signed.
- The 9th Meeting of CPLP Tourism Ministers was held in June 2017 in Brazil (Foz do Iguaçu) in a partnership with the Cataratas Festival (3rd largest fair in Brazil). The work agenda, had as its main focus, the debate around the Strategic Plan for Tourism Cooperation in the CPLP. The following documents were signed at the meeting: Foz do Iguaçu Declaration, Minutes of the 5th Meeting of Tourism Focal Points and the Strategic Plan for Tourism Cooperation in the CPLP (PECTUR-CPLP) 2016-2026.
- Under the theme "Factors promoting Tourism in the CPLP Space; Mobility/Free Movement/Visa facilitation/Connectivity", the 10th Meeting of CPLP Tourism Ministers was held in Cape Verde, in November 2019, during which The Declaration of S. Filipe and the Plano of Action 2019-2021 were approved.
- The 11th Meeting of CPLP Ministers of Tourism took place in Luanda, Angola, on 2 and 3 May 2022, under the theme “The contribution of tourism to the sustainable socio-economic recovery of the CPLP in the post-COVID-19 era: Challenges and Opportunities”.
- The meeting discussed the role of tourism as a driver of economic recovery following the COVID-19 pandemic, assessed the degree of implementation of the Action Plan of the CPLP Meeting of Ministers of Tourism, and identified cooperation priorities for the 2022–2024 biennium. At the conclusion, the Luanda Declaration was signed.
- 12th Meeting of CPLP Ministers of Tourism, held in São Tomé, São Tomé and Príncipe, on 31 October 2024, under the theme “Sustainable and Inclusive Tourism: Challenges and Opportunities in the CPLP.” With a focus on sustainability and inclusion in the tourism sector among Member States, recognising tourism as a driver of sustainable economic and social development, the implementation of the CPLP Strategic Plan for Cooperation in Tourism (PECTUR-CPLP 2016–2026) and the definition of an Action Plan for 2024–2026, and a Final Declaration was adopted containing the conclusions of the meeting and guidelines for future cooperation in the tourism sector among Portuguese-speaking countries.
The 13th Meeting of CPLP Ministers of Tourism will take place in May 2026 in Timor-Leste.
