According to the Guinean Presidency, official ceremonies marking the 50th anniversary of Guinea-Bissau’s independence will take place this Thursday at Avenida Amilcar Cabral in Bissau, with the participation of representatives from 26 countries.
The ceremonies are scheduled to begin at 10 am after the staged arrival of all guests, starting with the representative of the Association of Former Combatants, the municipality, religious and traditional authorities, and then political parties, MPs, diplomats, government members. , former presidents, representatives of the judiciary, international organizations, invited heads of state and government and others, who will sit on hundreds of chairs arranged on five platforms on one side of the avenue.
The event is held on Guinea’s Armed Forces Day, November 16, despite the declaration of independence on September 24, 1973.
After the review of the troops, the President of the Republic of Guinea-Bissau, Umaro Sissoko Embalo, will deliver a “Message to the Nation,” concluding the ceremony with a public parade and a military parade.
After the military parade, Sissoko Embalo will walk with the guests to the Palace of the Republic, located on Praça dos Heróis Nacionais (formerly Praça do Império), for an official lunch in the banquet hall, which will conclude with ceremonies celebrating the fiftieth anniversary of independence and Armed Forces Day.
Among the representatives of the 26 declared countries are the President of the Portuguese Republic Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, the Prime Minister of Portugal António Costa and the Minister of Foreign Affairs João Gomes Cravinho.