CPLP

The CPLP - Community of Portuguese Language Countries - is the political, economic, and cultural cooperation space uniting nine countries across three continents: Portugal, Brazil, Angola, Mozambique, Cape Verde, Guinea-Bissau, São Tomé and Príncipe, Equatorial Guinea, and Timor-Leste. For PCIC, the CPLP represents a natural framework for police and judicial cooperation, grounded in a shared language, legal systems of Lusophone origin, and shared democratic values.

The Portuguese language is not only a symbol of identity - it is a practical instrument of cooperation. Communication between investigators, the exchange of procedural documentation, the execution of mutual legal assistance requests, and joint training are all facilitated by the shared language. PCIC investigators were trained in Portuguese, procedural acts are drafted in Portuguese, and the Timorese legal system has Lusophone roots - which makes cooperation with the police and justice systems of CPLP countries naturally more agile than with partners from other legal and linguistic frameworks.

Operationally, the most relevant partnerships in the CPLP space include the Judicial Police of Portugal - already detailed as founding partner -, the Judicial Police of Cape Verde, the National Criminal Investigation Service of Mozambique (SERNIC), and the Judicial Police of Macau. PCIC's 2020-2030 Strategic Plan foresees the conclusion of Memoranda of Understanding with all of these entities, creating formal cooperation channels that complement INTERPOL's multilateral mechanisms with more direct, personalised bilateral relationships.

The periodic meetings of CPLP Heads of Police - in which the PCIC National Director participates - are a privileged forum for sharing experiences, coordinating positions in international fora, and building the personal trust relationships that are ultimately what makes police cooperation effective day to day.