Africa-Press – Cape verde. Cape Verde and Brazil want to increase trade relations and ask for the resumption of maritime and air links, interrupted during the Covid-19 pandemic, officials from both countries announced today, at the end of the fourth political consultation meeting.
“We want to promote economic and business relations with Brazil, there is potential, and we will have to work a little more on connectivity, be it sea or air”, stated the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, Miryan Vieira, at the end of the meeting that took place in Praia.
The secretary for Africa and the Middle East of the Brazilian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Carlos Duarte, said that, due to its geostrategic position, Cape Verde also provides his country with “opportunities” to access the African market.
TACV, which already flies to Portugal, France and Italy, intends to resume connections with Brazil, after suspension during the Covid-19 pandemic.
“Brazil is a developing country that has aspirations and capabilities that are often similar and complementary to Cape Verde and we are interested in deepening them”, said the diplomat.
Carlos Duarte said that Brazilian companies “are interested in participating more” in the Cape Verde market, through investments and trade, at a time when the Government has an ongoing privatization program for nine public companies, which it aims to complete by 2025 .
“These are economic opportunities that the Brazilian private sector must seriously consider”, challenged the Brazilian Government spokesperson, who also pointed to tourism and food exports as areas that the two countries can boost.
However, he highlighted that there is a need for “greater knowledge” of opportunities, as well as the creation of government instruments to protect investments.
The bilateral forum held today in Praia served to share information and take stock of cooperation actions between the two countries, which is already taking place in areas such as technical training, humanitarian assistance, defense, health and education.
The two countries are designing an Integrated Development Plan (PDI), which should be signed later this year and cover areas such as climate change and environmental preservation, health, tourism and entrepreneurship.
“The private sector will also have an important role in the materialization of this new framework of cooperation with Brazil”, reinforced Miryan Vieira, considering that, with this, the two countries will be giving “another look” to their bilateral relations.
The agenda for the four-hour meeting also included the political and socioeconomic situation in the respective countries and international geopolitics.
The last consultation between the two countries took place in Praia, in 2015, after the initial two, in 2009 and 2012.
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