Lisbon – 2 July 2025. His Majesty’s Honorary Consul-General of the Kingdom of Tonga to the Portuguese Republic, Anthony Bailey, attended a special ceremony held at the Palácio Conde de Penafiel in Lisbon , at the invitation of HE Mrs Indra McCormick, Ambassador of the Commonwealth of Australia to Portugal and Cape Verde, marking Australia’s accession as an Associate Observer of the Community of Portuguese Language Countries (CPLP). The occasion also served as the final official engagement of Ambassador McCormick at the conclusion of her diplomatic mission in Portugal.
The event was co-hosted by the CPLP Executive Secretary, His Excellency Zacarias Albano da Costa, and brought together representatives of Lusophone diplomatic missions, senior officials and partners from across the Portuguese-speaking world.
Australia’s accession represents a significant reinforcement of its engagement with the Lusophone community. By joining the organisation, Australia becomes part of the broad group of Associate Observer States, which includes Mauritius, Senegal, Georgia, Japan, Namibia, Turkey, Hungary, the Czech Republic, the Slovak Republic, Uruguay, Luxembourg, Andorra, the United Kingdom, Argentina, Chile, France, Italy, Serbia, Canada, Qatar, Côte d’Ivoire, Spain, the United States, Greece, India, Ireland, Peru and Romania, among others. These states cooperate with the CPLP in fields including cultural exchange, education, development, maritime affairs and multilateral dialogue.
The ceremony featured high-level interventions highlighting Australia’s growing involvement within the CPLP framework, as well as an excellent cultural and artistic programme presented by musicians, singers and performers from across the Lusophone world, reflecting the cultural richness of the organisation.
It was also formally noted that this event marked the final ceremony of the five-year mandate of H.E. Zacarias Albano da Costa as Executive Secretary of the CPLP, who will now return to Timor-Leste following the conclusion of his term.
The participation of the Honorary Consul-General underscored the Kingdom of Tonga’s ongoing engagement with Lusophone partners and the significance of Australia’s strengthened relationship with the CPLP, often referred to as the Lusophone Commonwealth, headquartered in Lisbon.
Tonga and Australia maintain a very close bilateral cooperation across many sectors. Tonga maintains a High Commission in Canberra headed by Acting High Commissioner Mr Curtis Leonard Tuihalangingie. Australia maintains an Embassy in Nuku’alofa headed by Ambassador HE Mr Brek Batley. During 2024 the Consul General Anthony Bailey visited both diplomatic missions during his visit to the region.
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