The President of Guinea-Bissau, Umaro Sissoco Embaló, said on Wednesday November 8 that he had received assurances that his Portuguese counterpart and Prime Minister would attend the celebrations marking the 50th anniversary of the country’s independence, despite the political crisis in Lisbon.
The Guinean Head of State said he had spoken to Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa and António Costa and that they had both guaranteed that they would be in Bissau for the festivities on November 16, which mark the 50th anniversary of Guinea-Bissau’s independence.
“They called me yesterday (Tuesday), that has nothing to do with it”, said Embaló, when asked if the political crisis in Portugal, which culminated in the resignation of Prime Minister António Costa, could prevent the two leaders from traveling to Bissau.
Umaro Sissoco Embaló was speaking to journalists on the sidelines of the opening of the XII Ordinary General Assembly of the Organizations of Supreme Audit Institutions of the Community of Portuguese Speaking Countries (CPLP), which took place at the Supreme Court of Justice of Guinea-Bissau.
The Guinean President said on several occasions that he had invited “several Heads of State and Government” to attend the celebrations to mark Guinea-Bissau’s 50th anniversary, which coincides with the date of the creation of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of the People (FARP) on November 16.
Guinea-Bissau unilaterally declared independence from Portugal on September 24, 1973.
On Tuesday November 7, Portuguese Prime Minister António Costa submitted his resignation to the President of the Republic, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, after learning through the Public Prosecutor’s Office that he was being investigated by the Supreme Court of Justice over lithium and hydrogen projects.