“Our goal is to protect that area. And to protect it from every angle and every dimension. And to transform this area into an area of peace, especially cooperation. Our goal is what we want,” said the head of Brazilian diplomacy, Mauro Vieira.
He spoke to Lusa on the sidelines of the 8th ministerial meeting of the South Atlantic Peace and Cooperation Zone (Zopacas) on the Cape Verdean island of São Vicente.
The minister recalled that Zopacas, which brings together 21 African countries and three from South America, is an “old project” and “very dear” to Brazil, in which the country has participated “since its conception” and intends to revitalize.
Cape Verde assumed the presidency of Zopacas in this ministerial meeting that took place after a gap of ten years without activity.
“Cape Verde will play an important role because it is a country strategically located between South America, Brazil and the continent, and the Atlantic coast of the African continent.”
“It is the first point in Africa, on the African continent, closest to Brazil.”
“And it is a country with which we have important traditional relations in all areas, in all aspects, of bilateral cooperation, of educational and cultural exchange, and of collaboration in international organizations,” Mauro Vieira recalled.
“In cooperation, there is the aspect of preservation and sustainable exploitation to benefit the populations of the countries bordering the South Atlantic.”
“So, this is the importance we give to the organization, to the concept of Zopacas, relations of peace and cooperation in the South Atlantic”, he added.
Headquartered in Brasilia (Brazil), Zopacas was created by a United Nations resolution in 1986 to prevent the introduction of nuclear weapons and other weapons of mass destruction in the region and through multilateralism to take advantage of all the socio-economic potential of the Atlantic corridor.
The VII ministerial meeting (Foreign Affairs or Foreign Relations) of the member states of this organization was held in Montevideo (Uruguay) in January 2013, the country that assumed the presidency of Zopacas until now.
However, Brazil has today assumed its willingness to host, within two years, the 9th ministerial meeting of the organization and, consequently, the presidency.
In addition to Brazil and Cape Verde, Angola, Guinea-Bissau, São Tomé and Príncipe, and Equatorial Guinea (all members of the Community of Portuguese-Speaking Countries) are also signatories of Zopacas.
South Africa, Benin, Cameroon, Ivory Coast, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea Conakry, Liberia, Namibia, Nigeria, Republic of Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo, Senegal, Sierra Leone, and Togo (Africa), as well as Argentina and Uruguay (South America), are also part of the organization.
In this ministerial meeting, which will take place throughout the day, two “fundamental documents” will be adopted according to the Cape Verdean presidency, the Mindelo Declaration and the Mindelo Action Plan, “which will guide the activities of Zopacas for the next two years.
With information from Lusa