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CPLP was formed in 1996 with seven countries, Angola, Brazil, Cape Verde, Guinea-Bissau, Mozambique, Portugal and São Tomé and Príncipe, five of them are in Africa. East Timor joined the community in 2002 after regaining independence from Indonesia.
The CPLP is a bloc in the process of construction and the societies of the eight member nations have little knowledge of each other. One of the unique features of the CPLP is that its members are linked by a common language and shared cultural features, which form a bridge between countries separated by great distances and different continents.
The Portuguese-speaking countries are home to more than 223 million people located across the globe but having similar cultures and a shared history. The CPLP nations have a combined area of about 10,742,000 square kilometers, much larger than the USA or CanadaCanada historically the Dominion of Canada is the second-largest, and northernmost, country in the world. It is a decentralized federation of 10 provinces and 3 territories, governed as a constitutional monarchy, and formed in 1867 through an act of Confe.
Since its formation, the CPLP has already helped to solve problems in São Tomé and Príncipe and in Guinea-Bissau, because of two different coup d'etats in those countries. These two problems were solved, and in fact, have helped these two countries to take economic reforms (in the case of São Tomé) and democratic ones (in the case of Guinea-Bissau).
The leaders of CPLP believe that peace in Angola and Mozambique as well as East Timor's independence will favour the further development of the CPLP and a strengthening of multilateral cooperation.
The Organization’s Executive Secretariat is responsible for designing and implementing CPLP´s projects and initiatives. It is located in LisbonLisbon (in Portuguese, Lisboa is the capital and largest city of Portugal. It is the seat of the district of Lisbon. Geography and Location Lisbon is situated at 38 degrees, 43 minutes north, and 9 degrees, 8 mintes west. It is located in the west of the, Portugal. The Executive Secretary has a two-year mandate, and can be re-elected only once.
CPLP´s guidelines and priorities are established by biannual Conference of Heads of State and the Organization’s plan of action is approved by the Council of Foreign Ministers, which meets every year.
There are also monthly meetings of the Permanent Steering Committee that follow specific initiatives and projects.
The CPLP is mainly financed by its eight member states.