Sao Tomé, August 28 (RHC)-- Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, participated this Sunday in the 14th Conference of Heads of State of the Community of Portuguese-speaking Countries (CPLP), which was held in the city of Sao Tomé, capital of Sao Tomé and Principe.

The Brazilian president arrived in the African country on an official visit that marks the end of a full week in which he fulfilled other official commitments on the African continent before traveling back to Brasilia on Sunday.

In his opening speech at the event, Lula addressed issues such as sustainability, hunger and the future of work. The Brazilian president also reinforced the importance of unity among the countries that make up the CPLP.

According to the Brazilian president, "most CPLP countries have a young population. For them to have hope for a better future, it is necessary to promote sustainability, from now on, in its three dimensions: social, economic and environmental. There is the prospect of a dignified life.  At the CPLP, we can be proud of our joint work in promoting food and nutritional security," he said.

Lula also reemphasized his intention to bring Brazil closer to the countries of the African continent: "Africa has everything to become an agricultural power, with the capacity to feed its people and the world. Brazil will continue to be a partner in this effort," said Lula.

The CPLP is made up of: Angola, Brazil, Cape Verde, Guinea-Bissau, Equatorial Guinea, Mozambique, Portugal, Sao Tome and Principe and East Timor (Oceania).

In the meantime, Brazil and Sao Tome and Principe signed a memorandum between their respective foreign ministries, in addition to the fact that Lula had already signed seven other cooperation agreements during his visit to Angola.

This meeting is the culmination of several days of intense work. Earlier in the week, Lula participated in South Africa in a summit of the Brics, a group that brings together Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, and which will be joined by Argentina, Egypt, Ethiopia, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Iran as of next January.  He then visited Angola, where he met with local representatives.

The strategy, already implemented by the President in his first terms in office, calls for intensifying the "South-South" partnership in foreign relations, i.e. with the countries of the global South, and not concentrating efforts exclusively on partners from the developed world.