Welcome to the Official page of the Presidency of the Portuguese Republic

Mister President, Excellency,
Mrs. Barreto Pires,
Honourable Authorities,
Illustrious Guests,

I am greatly pleased to receive you, Mister President, as well as your wife and the deputation that accompanies you on this Official Visit to Portugal. A Visit that brings us much honour and which has a particular significance to all Portuguese.

It is first of all a visit from a friend who knows us and with whom we are well acquainted, and welcome with the trust, the respect and the friendship kept for those who are near to us.

But it is equally the visit of the Head of State of a Country with which we are linked with bonds of deep and fraternal friendship. A friendship based upon the complicity which is born of a common language and of a vast heritage of affection, and which asserts itself in the sharing of aims and interests.

Mister President,

The excellence of our relationship shows itself in our intense political dialogue, in the results achieved in various areas of our bilateral cooperation, in our common membership in CPLP and in the presence in Portugal of an important community of people from Cape Verde.

Portugal is proud of being one of the main partners in the Cape Verde cooperation programme. The strategy jointly determined by both countries, for the following four year period, foresees a reinforced action in structuring areas for Cape Verde. We will thus be contributing towards the consolidation of the extraordinary advances achieved by Cape Verde with respect to its development priorities, and to the targets drawn in the framework of the Development Objectives of the Millennium.

Your Excellency’s visit to Portugal happens on the eve of the VII Summit of Heads of State and of Government of CPLP, to be held in Lisbon, and the theme of which will be “The Portuguese Language as a common heritage, a global future”,

The promotion and valuing of the Portuguese language as a fundamental asset for the continuance of our interests in a global world demands determination and persistence. I am certain that, with our CPLP partners, we will know how to identify the best route to achieve that objective.

The quality and intensity of our relationship is also shown by the presence in Portugal of a large community of people from Cape Verde, whose contribution to the development of our country, as well as in the arts, culture, music and other sectors of society I wish to emphasize and pay tribute, here, today.

We do not ignore, especially due to the experience of the Portuguese Diaspora, the difficulties often felt by immigrant communities, I want to assure you, however, Mister President, that Portugal will continue doing all that is possible to guarantee the rights to an active citizenship of all the people of Cape Verde legally resident in Portugal. .

Mister President,

During the meeting we held this morning we had the opportunity to broach the challenges and opportunities of the new stage of development that Cape Verde is currently going through.

A new stage singled out by relevant advances in the field of its external relations and its insertion in the world markets.

The approval of a “special partnership” with the European Union, during the Portuguese Presidency, in 2007, proved the recognition of the integrity and rigour which Cape Verde placed on the achievement of that strategic option, but equally the attitude with which it faces the challenges of its development.

Equally, the adhesion of Cape Verde to the World Trade Organization, in December 2007, and the promotion of Cape Verde to the class of a Country of Median Income, in early 2008, well reflects the progress that the country is attaining.

I wish to congratulate the authorities and the people of Cape Verde for these successes. Your Excellency and the people of Cape Verde can continue to count upon Portugal’s firm support, with our friendship and endeavour, to proceed upon the course you have chosen.

Mister President,

The priority which is attributed by Cape Verde to economic growth, together with the fight against poverty and exclusion, are good reasons for the Country to be singled out today as an example of the good use of public resources.

Political, social and economic stability is, after all, a determining factor for Cape Verde to become an attractive destination for foreign investment.

Portugal and its economic forces are well acquainted with this reality. Our enterprises know the country and believe in its potential. The strengthening of their presence in the economy of Cape Verde will contribute towards growth and economic diversification, to the creation of employment and to the improvement of the living conditions of its people.

I am certain that we will jointly know how to benefit from the historic, human and cultural bonds that bring us together, as well as the convergence of our interests, to consolidate our entrepreneurial cooperation in the sectors of tourism and infrastructures, as well as in innovation, scientific and technological development or in that of renewable energies.

Mister President,

We are nowadays going through uncertain times as to the evolution of the world economy. Factors such as the food crisis and the increase in the price of fuels place us all before important challenges in terms of civilization.

In this framework, our capability of conquering the challenges of global competitiveness is more than ever geared to the development and consolidation of partnerships with countries and areas of integration with which we have strong complementarities.

This is the case with the partnership between Portugal and Cape Verde.

I ask you all to join me in a toast to the health and well being of President Pedro Pires and of Mrs. Barreto Pires, to the prosperity of the People of Cape Verde and to the future of the bonds of fraternal friendship which link Portugal and the “Paradise of the Atlantic”, spoken of by Manuel de Novas and sung by the universal voice of Cesária Évora.