PR of Cape Verde says there is "enormous desire" from the US to strengthen ties with the African country

The Cape Verdean president told Lusa today that he felt in the US authorities "an enormous desire to see relations strengthened" between the two countries, for which reason he will try to establish new partnerships in the New England region.

José Maria Neves is currently completing the last days of a trip that took him to North American cities such as Boston, New Bedford, Waterbury, Pawtucket or Brockton, and where he met with various Cape Verdean communities and associations, as well as with local, state and federal authorities.

" This trip is exceeding all my expectations. I have been with young entrepreneurs, with churches, with various authorities, and I will also be at universities and schools. It has been great to see what the community is gaining in terms of power and there is more and more awareness of how this community must intervene to participate in the overall development process of Cape Verde at ever higher levels ", said the head of state.

" There is a good atmosphere here and we have possibilities to reinforce the participation of the diaspora in the United States in the development process of Cape Verde. (...) I was also with 'mayors', governors and with state and federal senators, and here there is a enormous desire to see relations between Cape Verde and the United States strengthened ", he stressed.

Taking into account this "enormous will" that he said he had found with the authorities, José Maria Neves took the opportunity to launch two challenges: " the first is that we must make an effort so that, in 2025, within the framework of the 50 years of our independence, we carry out a convention of Cape Verdeans in the United States, above all, to put the next 50 years in perspective and ways of working together for a country that is much more modern, prosperous, fair and with more opportunities for all", he said.

The second challenge, also within the scope of the 50 years of independence, is to take a strong delegation from the US state of Massachusetts to Cape Verde, led by the state governor, " so that we can establish partnerships in the areas of education, health and business, and give the leap in our relationship ," he added.

In an interview with Lusa, the head of state also said that he felt an " enormous availability " from the Cape Verdean diaspora to work for the development of Cape Verde, assessing that they feel " proud " of their origins and that " they want to give more " to the country.

" I think that now lies the responsibility of building bridges to be able to participate more actively in Cape Verde's transformation process and in accelerating the steps that are necessary for this ", he observed.

Cape Verde has a population of around 500,000, but the Government recently estimated that more than one and a half million Cape Verdeans live in Europe and the United States, with the financial system of the archipelago dependent on remittances from these emigrants.

José Maria Neves will be in the United States until Wednesday, still having a program with several meetings and events at universities to fulfill.

This morning, the President will be at the renowned MIT - Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where he will address issues of electronic governance.

At the University of Massachusetts (UMass-Boston), the head of state will be the guest speaker at the ceremonies marking the 25th Anniversary of the Academic Program for the Study, Appreciation and Dissemination of the Paths and Contributions of Martin Luther King and Amílcar Cabral.

The last day of the trip, on Wednesday, will be spent at Bridgewater State University, where he will hold a meeting with university professors, managers and entrepreneurs from the education sector of Cape Verdean descent.