José Maria Neves honors Luxembourg PM for his contribution to strengthening relations between Cape Verde and Luxembourg

The President of the Republic, José Maria Neves, today awarded the Prime Minister of Luxembourg, Xavier Bettel, with the Volcano Medal, First Class, for his contribution to strengthening relations between Cape Verde and this European country.

The award to Xavier Bettel took place during an audience on the afternoon of the first day of his three-day visit to Luxembourg, after a tête-à-tête with Grand Duke Henri, and a ceremony at the National Monument of Luxembourgish Solidarity.

“I will honor the prime minister for all his work and his leadership in favor of strengthening relations of friendship and cooperation between our two countries. It is difficult to say in words the level of friendship and relationships,” he said.

According to the President of the Republic, Luxembourg is one of Cape Verde's main partners and has made an "extraordinarily important strategic contribution" to the country's modernization and transformation.

“Because of this contribution and the Prime Minister's personal contribution to strengthening these relationships, we will highlight his work. It is a tribute from the Cape Verdean people to the Government of Luxembourg for everything it has done for us”, he explained.

Also this afternoon, José Maria Neves received in audience deputies from all benches of the Luxembourgish parliament and the Minister of Foreign and European Affairs, Jean Asselborn.

“The audience was, on the one hand, to recognize the work done so far and, on the other hand, to share the common will to continue building this strong partnership that exists between the two countries, by the way, promising and the will is unlimited and I think that Cape Verde and Luxembourg have everything to continue to strengthen these friendly and cooperative relations”, he indicated.

Tonight, the President of the Republic and the First Lady, Débora Carvalho, will attend a gala dinner in their honor, hosted by Grand Duke Henri and Grand Duchess Maria Teresa.

The three-day state visit to the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg takes place within the framework of the relations of friendship, solidarity and cooperation that unite the two countries and peoples and at the invitation of the Grand Duke and Grand Duchess.

José Maria Neves is accompanied by a government, municipal and business delegation, which includes, among others, the ministers of Foreign Affairs, Cooperation and Regional Integration, Rui de Figueiredo Soares, Communities, Jorge Santos, and Industry, Commerce and Energy, Alexander Monteiro.

The presidents of the Cape Verde Stock Exchange, Miguel Monteiro, of the Cape Verde Technological Park, Carlos Monteiro, and of the Directing Council of Pró-Empresa, Edney Cabral, as well as the presidents of the municipal chambers of Paul, António Aleixo Martins, and from São Filipe, Nuias Silva, are also part of the delegation.

The visit of the President of the Republic to Luxembourg takes place at a time when the two countries are celebrating 30 years of cooperation relations, which began in the late 1980s, which gave rise to the signing of the General Bilateral Agreement on Cooperation for Development in 1990's.

The current Indicative Cooperation Program covers the areas of employment and professional training, renewable energies, combating climate change, water and sanitation, micro-finance and decentralization, sectors considered important for Cape Verde to meet the Sustainable Development Goals of the 2030 Agenda of the United Nations.