José Maria Neves, who was speaking at the Luanda Media Library, at the end of a meeting he had with the community of his country residing in Angola, said that his visit to the "sister country" was "one of the best" he has ever made abroad while ruler.
"We have achieved all the recommended objectives, there are conditions for strengthening friendly and cooperative relations between Angola and Cape Verde, relations are already excellent, now it is time to raise the bar and it is always possible to go further," he said.
The head of state, who is making the first official visit abroad after being elected in October 2021 and taking office in November, recalled that his Angolan counterpart, João Lourenço, will also visit his country, on which occasion all friendship will be rewarded.
The Cape Verdean president praised the "warm way" in which his delegation is being treated in Angola, where it arrived on Sunday, and guaranteed that João Lourenço's visit to the archipelago "will serve to seal the commitments" to strengthen mutual relations.
"In particular, strengthening relations of friendship and cooperation, relations in the field of air and maritime transport, relations in the field of tourism, higher education and innovation, reform of the State and public administration", as well as economic and business relations , establishing partnerships between different Angolan and Cape Verdean companies, he stressed.
The first state visit to Angola by José Maria Neves to Angola ends on Wednesday, the day the presidential delegation returns to Cape Verde.
The head of state reiterated that the visit was quite successful and "ends up exceeding the limits initially planned".
In relation to the meeting held with the Cape Verdean community in Angola, during which various concerns were raised, especially regarding documentation, José Maria Neves assured that work is already underway to address this concern.
The Angolan Government "may take new measures to allow and facilitate access to documentation for Cape Verdeans who have already been" in the country "since the 40s or before" and, in due course, "will announce the limits of this decision", highlighted.
José Maria Neves acknowledged the existence of many Cape Verdeans in "vulnerable condition" in Angola, and that "some already receive a pension supplement" from the Government of Cape Verde.
"It is an effort that the Government makes to support those who are most vulnerable, some, here, having access to documentation, can also improve their living conditions, because they can have access to support and other contributions and benefits from the Angolan government", he pointed out.
President João Lourenço assured, on Monday, after official talks with the Cape Verde delegation, that the resumption of the air link between Luanda and Praia "is coming soon" and should take place in the coming months.
For José Maria Neves, who speaks of efforts by both Governments to resume the air connection, with the absence of this connection both countries "lose with the limitation of the mobility of people and goods", which had already happened before.
"There are a lot of people who were already doing business both here in Luanda and in São Tomé with Cape Verde, the pandemic came to jeopardize everything, but we are making an effort to see if there will be this connection as soon as possible", he concluded.
