Luanda — The Secretary-General of the United Nations, António Guterres, Thursday in New York, USA, praised Angola's role in resolving conflicts in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Central African Republic (CAR).
Speaking at a meeting with Permanent Representatives of the Community of Portuguese-speaking countries (CPLP) at the UN, as part of the CPLP Day celebrations, António Guterres emphasised the fact that Angola, within the framework of multilateralism in Africa, is committed to continental pacification.
Angola, as a mediator of the process and champion of the African Union for Peace and Reconciliation in Africa, is developing initiatives aimed at promoting dialogue and inclusive political processes in conflict resolution in eastern DRC, CAR, Sudan and other regions of the African continent.
António Guterres also praised the role of the CPLP in the dissemination and valorisation of the Portuguese language at the United Nations, stressing that he follows with satisfaction the intervention in this idiom in important meetings of the UN agenda, citing Mozambique as an example in the Security Council.
Regarding the inclusion of young people trained for positions available in the UN System, António Guterres urged the CPLP countries to organise campaigns to alert universities about job opportunities.
The Permanent Representative of Angola to the UN, Francisco José da Cruz, speaking on behalf of the CPLP group, recalled the role of the organisation in building consensus and finding peaceful and sustainable solutions for different challenges that arise on the United Nations work agenda.
Francisco José da Cruz expressed the desire for the Portuguese language to become the working language of the United Nations, having requested the support of the Secretary-General to achieve this goal.
During the event that marked the celebration of the 27th anniversary of the CPLP and the 14th anniversary of World Portuguese Language Day, Francisco José da Cruz said that cooperation between the community and the UN has been fundamental in promoting common values and objectives and in defending multilateralism in addressing global challenges.
As acting president of the CPLP group at the UN, Cruz stressed that the increasingly active participation in the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and other international initiatives will allow Portuguese-speaking countries to benefit from effective and quality cooperation from the United Nations.
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The Angolan diplomat assured that the CPLP and the UN will continue to work together to make Portuguese one of their working languages, as an unequivocal expression of the multilingualism and representativeness of the peoples that this international organisation defends.
The Angolan diplomat emphasised that the recurrent presence of CPLP Member States at the UN Security Council, such as Brazil and Mozambique, illustrates the importance that the CPLP attaches to international peace and security.
"We share with the United Nations the commitment to peaceful conflict resolution and multilateral cooperation to achieve a better future for all," the diplomat said.
The Community of Portuguese Speaking Countries comprises Angola, Brazil, Cape Verde, Guinea-Bissau, Equatorial Guinea, Mozambique, Portugal, São Tomé and Príncipe and Timor-Leste, and has more than 30 Associate Observers.
It is estimated that the community brings together more than 270 million people. VM/Amp/jmc
