Remarks by Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield at Joint Press Availability with Cabo Verdean Foreign Minister Rui Figueiredo in Praia, Cabo Verde
Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield
U.S. Representative to the United Nations
Praia, Cabo Verde
September 5, 2023
AS DELIVERED
AMBASSADOR LINDA THOMAS-GREENFIELD: Good afternoon, everyone. It’s great to be back in Cabo Verde. A little over a year ago, Foreign Minister Figueiredo and I met here in Praia. And today, we reaffirmed the strong bilateral relationship between our two countries. The United States is committed to expanding our commercial ties – and deepening our partnership in areas such as security cooperation. And we want to empower democracies like Cabo Verde that share our values and respect human rights.
Today, the Foreign Minister and I discussed a host of topics, including the Atlantic Cooperation Initiative and our priorities for the upcoming UN General Assembly. I also expressed my appreciation for Cabo Verde’s unequivocal condemnation of Russia’s illegal war of aggression against Ukraine. The international community must continue to urge Russia to end its war of choice – which is having devastating consequences for people around the world, especially in Africa and the Middle East.
Foreign Minister Figueiredo – thank you for your leadership and your partnership. I look forward to continuing to work closely together. Thank you.
FOREIGN MINISTER RUI ALBERTO DE FIGUEIREDO SOARES: Good afternoon. I just met with Ambassador Linda Thomas Greenfield, U.S. Permanent Representative to the United Nations, who is visiting Cabo Verde. In our meeting, we addressed issues regarding bilateral relations, highlighting the historical ties of friendship that date back more than 200 years, and the fruitful relations between Cabo Verde and the United States.
We emphasized the importance of this relationship for both nations, especially in terms of security, in the context of the cooperation in the Atlantic, and stressed the importance of security cooperation in the region and the need for close cooperation, especially to address maritime security and the fight against terrorism. We also addressed issues concerning regional and Atlantic cooperation challenges. In that regard, we addressed common regional and global challenges, including climate change, combating transnational crime, and peacekeeping efforts.
We made reference to the multiple democratic crises affecting our region, including the recent coups and the need for dialogue and the peaceful resolution of conflicts to prevail. We further highlighted the importance of comprehensive solutions to conflict resolution that address the root causes of conflicts in Africa in order to promote understanding and ensure long-term stability.
As mentioned, the historical ties between Cabo Verde and the United States stem from centuries of shared history in the Atlantic. We have therefore also addressed the strategic importance of Atlantic cooperation, maritime security and our interest in combating piracy, illegal fishing and other maritime threats in the Atlantic Ocean.
We also talked about climate change, economic opportunities, sustainable development, infrastructure development, renewable energy, education and capacity-building, ocean conservation, the African Union and ECOWAS, and the global challenges with the war in Ukraine.
Once again, thank you very much, Ambassador Thomas-Greenfield, for this visit. We wish you can visit our country more often. Thank you very much.
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