On April 25, 2024, we celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Revolution in Portugal. April 25th is an achievement for the entire Portuguese-speaking community. Cabo Verde also celebrates, on this memorable date, freedom, human dignity and democracy.

We reaffirm our interest in strengthening our partnership in priority areas such as: development of human capital, energy transition, water strategy, blue economy, digital economy and maritime security.

We have a convergence of purposes on fundamental issues such as the urgency of climate and environmental action, peace, security and the prevalence of democracy, in a world threatened by climate change, wars and conflicts and attacks on democracy.

Our Ocean, Athens

No country can guarantee security alone.
The ocean is the responsibility of each country and all countries.
This is why partnership for development, must go hand in hand with climate action, ocean protection and cooperative security.

Our Ocean
Between the economy and the climate, scientific evidence and the effects of climate change demonstrate a very clear restriction: the survival of humanity. 
And there is another evidence: without security there is no development for anyone, and the world will get worse.

The Government of Cabo Verde monitors the conflict situation in the Middle East with concern and strongly condemns Iran's attack on Israel. The Government calls for containment to avoid an undesirable escalation of violence in that region.

When we talk about freedom and democracy, they are not abstractions, we talk about the lives of concrete people, in community. We talk about civil, political, social, economic and cultural rights essential to human development. We talk about people.

I would like to thank President Zelensky for participating in the Sal Conference, Cabo Verde. Despite the difficult situation that Ukraine is going through as a result of Russia's invasion, President Zelensky sent us a message of confidence in Freedom, Democracy and Justice.

In the name of geographical and cultural specificities, arguments are often raised to weaken democracy. It would be good if the confrontation of democracies were to improve democracy and not to distort and weaken its essential elements.

Democracy must be supported and sustained by consistent principles and values. Otherwise, it will be a salad that fits everything: autocracy, authoritarianism, capture of judicial systems, black outs of press freedom, coups d'état as a way of accessing and remaining in power.

We held an International Conference on Freedom, Democracy and Good Governance on the island of Sal, Cabo Verde. We had special messages from the Secretary General of the UN, the President of Ukraine, Zelensky, the President of the ECOWAS Commission, Omar Touray.

I received in Sal Island a delegation of American federal senators led by Senator Patty Murray. We recognize the excellent partnership with the USA and reaffirm the strengthening of the political, economic and maritime security partnership.

Cabo Verde is the freest country in Africa. For the second year in a row, Freedom House places Cabo Verde in a prominent position in the concert of nations. Cabo Verde's good position is an incentive to continue to care for, protect and improve our democracy

Cabo Verde is the second best positioned African country in the ranking of the corruption perception and transparency index and the best ranked Portuguese-speaking country.

Cabo Verde was accepted into the Global Employment and Social Protection Accelerator as part of the United Nations initiative to support countries committed to creating decent jobs and social inclusion. A limited number of countries were selected. CV is one of these countries.

The 3rd Italy-Africa Summit was a demonstration of Italy's commitment and interest in deepening relations with Africa, a milestone in building a bridge towards a solid partnership.

We are a small country with around 500,000 inhabitants and a large nation with a vast diaspora and a huge sea. Our centuries-old story is one of resilience, overcoming, openness to the world and ambition. It is this DNA that makes us winners.

We share with the US values such as democracy, good governance and respect for human rights. These values, the history of a relationship spanning more than 200 years and the large American-Cape Verdean diaspora are the structuring foundations of our partnership.

Today I had the pleasure of meeting with US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken. This visit to Cabo Verde symbolizes the reinforcement of the already excellent relations between Cabo Verde and the United States.

Cabo Verde received certification as a malaria-free country. I had the privilege of leading this historic moment in partnership with WHO Director General, Tedros Adhanom.