The Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, Bendito dos Santos Freitas, accompanied by the Head of the Permanent Mission of Timor-Leste to the CPLP, Ambassador Marina Ribeiro Alkatiri and the National Director of the CPLP, Aviano Faria, attended the 28th Meeting of the Community of Portuguese-Speaking Countries (CPLP) Council of Ministers in São Tomé and Príncipe, on August 25th, 2023. 
During the meeting, Angola officially handed over the rotating presidency of the CPLP to São Tomé and Príncipe, who will take over the organisation’s leadership for a two-year term, from 2023 to 2025.
The CPLP Council of Ministers also approved the Declaration of São Tomé and Príncipe, which chooses Sustainability and Youth as the key theme for its term over the next two years. 
The meeting also included the approval of Paraguay’s application to become a consultative observer at the CPLP and the approval of the amending and 2024 budgets for the CPLP Executive Secretariat, along with other relevant documents.
The documents resulting from these deliberations will be submitted to the CPLP Heads of State and Government conference, scheduled for August 27th, 2023.