After being reported in various media about the signing of the Mobility Agreement between member countries of the CPLP, the executive secretariat of the CPLP, Zacarias da Costa, came to clarify that the same (agreement) succeeds only for the three Member States that have ratified, namely Cape Verde, Sao Tome and Principe and Portugal.

"For the remaining member states, and as provided for in the Agreement, the entry into force will occur after delivery of the respective instruments of ratification to the Secretariat," reads a CPLP communiqué to which MZNews has had access.

The communiqué also states that the entry into force of the agreement does not result in the immediate application of a visa-free regime in the CPLP, not even for the three states that have already ratified the agreement.

The CPLP clarifies in the document that the legal basis of the agreement includes the identification, not exhaustive, of the different modalities of mobility. "However, only one of these modalities - the visa exemption for holders of diplomatic, official, special and service passports - follows immediately from the entry into force of the Agreement.

"The implementation of other modalities of mobility (such as visa exemption for common passports, as reported) requires the establishment of additional instruments of partnership between two or more Parties," clarifies the CPLP, considering incorrect the news of a visa exemption for common passports in the CPLP.

The CPLP reaffirms, however, that the agreement enters into force on January 1, 2022.