Cape Verde and Portugal of one mind with regards to Guinea Bissau 11 June 2012
Cape Verdean President Jorge Carlos Fonseca was decorated Monday, June 11, by Portuguese President Aníbal Cavaco Silva during an event in which they took the opportunity to discuss the crisis in fellow lusophone country Guinea Bissau and to touch upon cooperation between Cape Verde and Portugal. “Cape Verde is of the same view as Portugal, the Community of Portuguese Language Countries, the European Union and the United Nations in relation to the coup d’état in Guinea Bissau, in the sense that no solution can include legitimizing coup d’états, which cannot be accepted by democratic states,” said Jorge Carlos Fonseca.
Speaking to the press alongside Cavaco Silva, after having been graced with the Cross of the Order of Christ in a traditional ritual in the Portuguese Presidential Palace in Lisbon, Jorge Carlos Fonseca, on his first official state visit to Portugal following his election as President of Cape Verde, said he was honored with the invitation to participate in the June 10 Portugal Day ceremonies there.
Despite the fact that relations of cooperation between the two countries have been “very good, solid, consistent and very diversified” since Cape Verde’s independence in 1975, according to Fonseca, more is needed. “We are studying new forms of cooperation,” he admitted.
In this sense, Portuguese Minister of Foreign Affairs Paulo Portas will soon make an official visit to Cape Verde, and Praia will host a wide-reaching summit in which, despite the hard times being experienced everywhere, the objective will be to “try to widen cooperation in the areas of health, language, education, tourism and business.”
The two also discussed the Cape Verdean community in Portugal and the “already noticeable” Portuguese community in Cape Verde.
Cavaco Silva affirmed that the “numerous” Cape Verdean community in his country “has contributed to the development of Portugal. In Cape Verde, there are some 200 Portuguese companies,” and Cavaco Silva referred to economic partnerships as important investments in mutual development.
With regards to Guinea Bissau, Cavaco Silva said that “we cannot be complacent with coup d’états, and in that region more than half of all coups that happen in the world take place.”
“The military instability in Guinea Bissau is responsible for making the people suffer,” said Cavaco Silva, who also said there is “a lack of respect for human rights in Guinea Bissau’s territory.” Indeed, the issue will be on the table in the July Community of Portuguese Language Countries (CPLP) summit in Maputo, Mozambique.
Cidade da Praia
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