The Community of Portuguese Speaking Countries (CPLP) is expected to discuss at its July summit "more effective support" to Mozambique over the violence in Cabo Delgadosaid to Lusa the ambassador of Cape Verde, the country that currently presides over the organization.

"I admit as natural that, by the relevance of the issue and the time we live in, that this issue [attacks in Cabo Delgado] is addressed at the summit, in a perspective of seeking to correspond more efficiently to the aspirations of Mozambique in its fair and legitimate fight against terrorism," said Eurico Monteiro in statements to Lusa.

The diplomat considered that "it is natural" that the next conference of CPLP heads of state and government, scheduled for July 16 and 17 in Luanda, Angola, "will strive to create conditions for solidarity to be more effective and really meet the expectations of the Mozambican authorities.

Eurico Monteiro stressed that the organization of the next summit is already the responsibility of Angola, the host country that will succeed Cape Verde as president of the CPLP, and therefore it is up to that country to make the final decision on the agenda.

However, the diplomat said that "it is expected that relevant political issues will be discussed" as is usual in summits, and that among these is "the violence and terrorist attacks in Cabo Delgado.

"Above all, from the perspective of doing everything possible to reinforce the support to the Mozambican authorities in their very serious fight against terrorism," he stressed, and possibly considering ways "to make this support more effective and more useful" for Mozambique.

Thus, according to the ambassador, there may be technical groups that, "even before the summit", can study these forms of support, but he does not want to say which ones.

In early May, the Cape Verdean Foreign Affairs Minister had already said in an interview to Lusa that the CPLP had decided to send a delegation to Mozambique, given the military and humanitarian crisis in Cabo Delgado.

"The Mozambican authorities have already said clearly that they appreciate and are aware of what they can get from the international community, especially from the Portuguese-speaking countries, from our community," said Rui Figueiredo Soares, who chairs the CPLP Council of Ministers.

The date for this visit has not yet been set, with the ambassadors of the CPLP proposing that it takes place in June, before the end of the Cape Verdean presidency of the organization.

"All of us, friendly countries, especially those of the community, will be available to respond to the needs of the Mozambican government in this matter," stressed, then, the head of Cape Verdean diplomacy.

Armed groups have terrorized Cabo Delgado since 2017, with some attacks claimed by the 'jihadist' group Islamic State, in a wave of violence that has led to more than 2,500 deaths, according to the ACLED conflict registration project, and 714,000 displaced people, according to the government.

An attack on Palma, near the gas project under construction, on March 24 caused dozens of deaths and injuries, with no official balance announced.

The Mozambican authorities announced they were in control of the town, but the attack led the Total oil company to abandon the site of the enterprise that was scheduled to start production in 2024 and on which many of Mozambique's economic growth expectations for the next decade are anchored.

Angola, Brazil, Cape Verde, Guinea-Bissau, Equatorial Guinea, Mozambique, Portugal, São Tomé and Príncipe, and East Timor are part of the CPLP.