Lisbon (Portugal), July 9, 2003 (Agência Brasil - ABr) - The Brazilian government will present the Zero Hunger Program at the VIII Meeting of the Council of Ministers of the Community of Portuguese-Speaking Countries (CPLP), scheduled for July 17-18 in Coimbra, Portugal. The idea, according to the Executive Secretary of the CPLP, Ambassador José Augusto Medicis, is to extend to the Portuguese-speaking countries, especially the five African nations and East Timor, the experience that is being tried in Brazil.

The Zero Hunger program, launched by President Lula soon after his inauguration, had a very great impact in Mozambique, Angola, Guinea-Bissau, Cape Verde, San Tomé and Príncipe, and East Timor. In these countries, hunger and malnutrition are also part of daily life. All of them suffer from the lack of basic nutrition and, in many cases, undergo more serious situations than those in Brazil.

"The idea is to extend the Zero Hunger program to the Portuguese-speaking countries with low levels of development. Gradually, measures and programs used in Brazil can be incorporated by these countries," the Ambassador added.

Other items on the agenda of the VIII Meeting of the CPLP include discussions on the reconstruction of Angola, Human Rights and the Abolition of the Death Penalty, and the Propagation of the Portuguese Language in countries that belong to the community, principally in East Timor, where only 10% of the population speaks Portuguese.

On Thursday (10), President Lula will visit the headquarters of the CPLP, where he will be honored with the unveiling of a plaque to mark his visit to the locale. (DAS)