Eduardo González
The Minister of Foreign Affairs, José Manuel Albares, made an official trip to Cape Verde yesterday, where he discussed with the highest authorities the regional situation in West Africa and the Sahel, a few days before the visit he will make next week to Senegal and Gambia. to continue discussing “the development and stability” of the continent.
According to diplomatic sources, Minister Albares was received in Cape Verde by the President of the Republic, José Maria Neves; the Prime Minister, José Ulisses Correia e Silva, and the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Rui Alberto de Figueiredo.
During the meetings, Albares reiterated that Cape Verde is a “strategic partner” for Spain in areas such as development cooperation and maritime security and addressed the regional situation in West Africa and the Sahel, “of great relevance for Spain and Europe.” According to the aforementioned sources, the minister will continue to address matters of interest for regional development and stability during his trip to Senegal and Gambia, which will take place on June 26 and 27.
As reported by the Presidency of Cape Verde, Neves conveyed to Albares his country’s desire to strengthen bilateral relations and highlighted the preparation of a summit between the Spanish Government and West African countries to address issues such as security in the Gulf of Guinea. , migrations and support for the development of the region.
In a press release prior to the trip, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs indicated that Cape Verde is “a reference partner in the region for Spain due to its democratic stability and its alignment on international political issues.”
Likewise, it specified that the objective of the visit was to “reinforce the commitment of the Government of Spain to the economic future of that country and the reforms designed to promote the implementation of the blue economy and increase security” and recalled that Spain is the first client and Cape Verde’s second supplier within the EU in 2022 and “wishes to remain a strategic economic partner.” The country is also the third destination for Spanish investments in sub-Saharan Africa.
In this sense, the meetings with the Cape Verdean authorities have been an opportunity to “accompany the Spanish companies present in the country, which carry out their activity in key sectors such as fishing and the development of tourism and contribute to job creation.” From an economic point of view, Spain and Cape Verde maintain an intense relationship, especially in the tourism sector and fish processing. Spain also leads the blue economy and fishing sector in the European Union Budgetary Support Group.
Last April, President Neves made a visit to Spain in which he was received by King Felipe VI and the President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez. That was his first visit to Spain since taking office in November 2021. During his last visit to Madrid, Sánchez and Neves addressed the strengthening of bilateral relations in areas such as development cooperation and the blue economy, especially the treatment of water and sustainable fishing. They also shared the firm commitment of both Governments to the fight against climate change, an issue of vital importance for an island country like Cape Verde, and discussed the challenges that West Africa is facing due to instability in the Sahel.
