The Minister of the Presidency of the Council of Ministers, Fidelis Manuel Leite Magalhães, met, on June 4th, 2021, at the Government Palace, in Dili, with Zacarias Albano da Costa, former Minister of Foreign Affairs of the IV Constitutional Government.
The former Foreign Affairs Minister will succeed Portuguese Francisco Ribeiro Telles as Executive Secretary of the Community of Portuguese-speaking Countries (CPLP), in July 2021, during the Summit of Heads of State and Government of the CPLP, to be held in Luanda, Angola.
The meeting was held as part of the preparation for the leadership of the CPLP executive secretariat, and the diplomat championed the importance of the CPLP for the reinforcement of Timor-Leste’s image in the world.
The Minister of the Presidency of the Council of Ministers congratulated Zacarias Albano for his nomination and wished him the best of luck in his new functions. The Minister renewed, on behalf of the Government, the votes of support to his mission and highlighted the importance of having for the first time a Timorese to assume the position of Executive Secretary of CPLP. 
The CPLP was established on July 17th, 1996, in Lisbon, and comprises nine member states – Angola, Brazil, Cape Verde, Guinea-Bissau, Equatorial Guinea, Portugal, Mozambique, Sao Tome and Principe and Timor-Leste.
The objectives of the Lusophone organisation are political and diplomatic concertation and cooperation in all areas amongst its members and the promotion and defence of the Portuguese language.