Two years late, due to the restrictions caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, the 2030 Cooperation Strategy was presented yesterday afternoon.
It is defined as the “leading instrument of the Portuguese public policy of international cooperation for development”, with the Portuguese-speaking African countries (PALOP) and East Timor.
In Auditorium 2 of the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation, in Lisbon, the strategy was presented by Cristina Moniz, Vice President of the Camões Institute, the institution responsible for Portuguese cooperation.
Divided into three main axes (framework; policy framework and action framework), this strategy has an equal number of objectives, which are always linked to Portuguese cooperation with the target countries: to confirm that this cooperation is at the heart of it; strengthen intervention capacity; and finally to increase its quality and effectiveness. “It is a plan that outlines an ambitious and geopolitical vision to respond to the main challenges in the international context,” explains Cristina Moniz. According to the director of the Camões Institute, this strategy will also allow the “expanding of knowledge” of these communities.
In the action plan for the decade presented yesterday, the transversal axis is gender equality and women’s empowerment, with actions articulated in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) defined by the United Nations. And through partnerships, the Portuguese government and the Camões Institute will also seek to contribute to education for development and action in the field of humanitarian and emergency aid.
All this with a primary mission: to seek to eradicate poverty, combat inequality and promote equitable global development, based on respect for human dignity. “We don’t want to — and can’t — leave anyone behind,” Cristina Moniz concluded in front of an audience that included several figures associated with PALOP diplomacy.
Earlier, in his speech, Foreign Minister João Gomes Cravinho had already said that this is “a special moment”, before praising the objectives of the strategy and highlighting the role of “truly collective and coherent” action played in an “admittedly complex international situation”.
In addition, Cravinho said, this collaborative agenda will also add “value”. “It seeks to appreciate the high human capital of the Camões Institute. It also appreciates the role of Portuguese state actors, promotes more partnerships and also appreciates all financial resources, implementing a timetable for a gradual and sustainable increase in government support for development”.
In the meantime, there was still room for two round tables, which focused on the challenges faced by women and girls in the PALOP and in Timor and on the “mission” which is to “achieve equality between men and women”.
In the end, the Deputy Minister of Parliamentary Affairs – in charge of migration – praised this factor, recalling that “when we talk about cooperation, we talk about faces, highlighting some figures in this struggle, such as Fátima Proença” – that “participated in the promotion of human rights in Guinea-Bissau” before April 25. “The cooperation did not start today, but today takes on a new importance, so that education is a priority and people’s rights are promoted,” said the minister, concluding: only then can we have stronger societies.
Source: DN
