"This is my first State visit as President of the Republic and the choice of Angola was not by chance, we have historical, consanguineous relations between our two countries and Angola has been a great friend of Cape Verde," stated José Maria Neves, in Luanda.
According to the Cape Verdean head of State, Angola "is a partner that has made a great contribution to the development" of his country since the beginning, and "this visit is a tribute to Cape Verde, the Cape Verdeans, for the the friendly way in which Angola has treated Cape Verde".
"Not only in economic-business relations, but also in the way in which Cape Verdeans have been received and today we have difficulty in saying whether they are Cape Verdeans or Angolans of Cape Verdean descent, taking into account the levels of integration here in Angola", he pointed out.
José Maria Neves completes his first day of work within the framework of his first State trip abroad, after taking office in November 2021, and this Monday had official talks with his Angolan counterpart, João Lourenço.
In joint statements, at the Presidential Palace in the upper city, in Luanda, he underlined that his visit is also a "tribute" that he pays "to Angola, a great tribute to its heroism, its tenacity".
"The fearless way in which it has faced the different challenges for its development and we want to demonstrate how much we feel recognized with the way that Angola has positioned itself in the region here in Southern Africa, central and at the level of the African continent", he pointed out.
"And we count on Angola, as an important partner, to continue this development of Cape Verde, but Africa also counts on Angola for the construction of a fair, modern, inclusive Africa, with all the opportunities for its children", stressed José Maria Neves.
The Cape Verdean Head of State, in his speech, also expressed his "rejoiced in the open paths" of cooperation in the most different domains, namely in air and maritime transport, civil aeronautics, hotels and tourism, higher education, technology and innovation.
José Maria Neves, who invited his counterpart to visit Cape Verde this year, an invitation that was accepted, believes that with the presence of João Lourenço in the archipelago "all paths will be definitively launched for the strengthening of relations of friendship and cooperation".
"Because it is our desire that Cape Verde becomes a 'hub', a business platform for Angola in that region of West Africa," he noted.
Before meeting Lourenço, José Maria Neves visited during the morning the António Agostinho Neto Memorial, a monument in honor of the first Angolan President and poet.
Alluding to one of his poems, stamped on the memorial, the Cape Verdean President stated that the writings of Agostinho Neto "inspire African countries, especially Angola and Cape Verde, to continue on the path of peace and development".
"The fact that I made this first visit demonstrates that Angola is one of the most important windows to see this new world under construction", he stressed.
For his part, João Lourenço recalled, at the joint press conference, that Angola "has not yet shown interest" in being an observer country of the West African Development Community (ECOWAS), "but when so, it will have Cape Verde as its godfather."
"We are certain that when this happens someday, we will have sponsors who will support our application for admission and, without a shadow of a doubt, that one of these sponsors will definitely be Cape Verde," he said.
And, in response, if Angola were to apply for an ECOWAS observer, José Maria Neves assured: "It will have our support".
