Portuguese-speaking African countries the European Union and the United Nations, and they work together to promote the development of culture and education and the preservation of the Portuguese language. Together with Portugal and Brazil in 1996, the Portuguese-speaking African countries established the Community of Portuguese Language Countries (, abbreviated to CPLP), which East Timor later joined in 2002 and Equatorial Guinea in 2014. Equatorial Guinea adopted Portuguese as its third official language in October 2011. Originally a Portuguese colony before it was claimed by Spain in 1778, Equatorial Guinea has adopted Portuguese as the country's third official language in order to be allowed
Parliamentary Confederation of the Americas necessity to create a hemispheric parliamentary organization became apparent at the first Summit of the Americas, held in Miami, Florida, USA, in December 1994. The Summit brought together the Chief Executives of every country in the Americas except for Cuba, with no input from the parliamentary/legislative branches of those countries. Since its creation, COPA has been an observer and participant at every subsequent Summit of the Americas: Santiago, Chile; Quebec City, Canada; and Mar del Plata, Argentina. COPA's membership includes all national and sub-national (provincial, state and territorial) parliamentarians or legislators from every country in the Western Hemisphere except Cuba.