Since April 8, 2025, the Guinea Bissau has been welcoming the 24th concertation meeting between the African Intellectual Property Organization (OAPI) and its national liaison structures in the Member States (SNL). The event was inaugurated by the Minister of Commerce and Industry of Guinea Bissau, Mr. Orlando Mendes Viegas, alongside the director general of OAPI, Mr. Denis Bohoussou.
This annual meeting constitutes a privileged exchange and dialogue platform between the general management of the OAPI and the managers of the national binding structures, responsible for promoting intellectual property in the 17 member states of the organization.
New themes on the program
The work of this 2025 edition is focused on three major axes:
- The evolution of protection procedures and intellectual property practices in the Member States
- The issues linked to international legal developments in the intellectual property system
- Major promotion events planned for the year 2025 at the OAPI
In his opening speech, the Minister of Commerce and Industry praised the efforts made by the OAPI to promote intellectual property in the Member States. He urged participants to intensify their actions in order to stimulate the development of intellectual property, stressing its importance in the face of the socioeconomic challenges of populations.
A celebration of Bissau-Guinean heritage heritage
The works will end on April 10, 2025 by a national activity for promoting intellectual property, which will be chaired by the Prime Minister, Head of Government. This ceremony will honor the ancestral know-how of the craftsmen of Guinea Bissau, with the official delivery of the registration certificate of more than a hundred drawings and models of the di Pinti loincloth.
High level meetings
On the sidelines of this meeting, the director general of the OAPI was received in audience on April 7, 2025 by the Prime Minister, Head of Government of the Republic of Guinea Bissau, Mr. Duarte de Barros III, as well as by the Minister of Commerce and Industry, administrator of the OAPI. These interviews were an opportunity to explore the prospects for support to national actors of Guinea Bissau for optimal use of intellectual property, in particular in support for the private sector and to the craftsmen.
This 24th consultation meeting reaffirms the commitment of the OAPI and its Member States to promote an effective intellectual property system adapted to the realities of countries.
