The VII Conference of Heads of State and Government of the CPLP (), commonly known as the 7th CPLP Summit (VII Cimeira da CPLP) was the 7th biennial meeting of heads of state and heads of government of the Community of Portuguese Language Countries, held in Lisbon, Portugal, on 24–25 July 2008.Portugal's Ministry for Sciences, Technology, and higher Education: COMMUNITY OF PORTUGUESE LANGUAGE COUNTRIES (CPLP) http://www.dges.mctes.pt/DGES/en/Mobility+and+International+Cooperation/International+Cooperation/Development+Cooperation/CPLP.htm Summary of VII Summit (Portuguese) http://www.cplp.org/Default.aspx?ID=163
Outcome At this Summit, Senegal become the third associate member of CPLP. Senegal has a strong community of people that came from Guinea-Bissau and Cape Verde. Senegal also includes the Casamance territory that was Portuguese until the 19th century, when it was ceded to France. Even today, the people of Casamance are more linked with Guinea-Bissau than with Senegal itself and some of the citizens of the territory even want an independent Portuguese-speaking Casamance country.
Participants
Members
President Aníbal Cavaco Silva
Prime Minister Fernando da Piedade Dias dos Santos
President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva
President Pedro Pires
President João Bernardo Vieira
Minister of Foreign Affairs Oldemiro Balói
President Fradique de Menezes
President José Ramos-Horta
Associate observers
President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo
Representative of the Minister of Foreign Affairs Jacques Balyon
Minister of Foreign Affairs Cheikh Tidiane Gadio
Organizations African Union Commission Chairperson Jean Ping
References
External links CPLP Summits official site