Sal, Cabo Verde, June 20, 2025 (Lusa) - The Deputy Director-General for International Partnerships at the European Commission, Myriam Ferran, described Cabo Verde on Friday as a “laboratory” for the impact that investment relations can have, where the aim is to strengthen initiatives.
“Cabo Verde shows the transformative potential of Global Gateway, a global strategy, and I believe this serves as the laboratory for what we can achieve on the ground, in an archipelago of renowned resilience and strategic location, bridging continents,” she said on her third visit to the islands.
Myriam Ferran was speaking during the investment forum that kicked off on Wednesday and ends today on the island of Sal, with a day focused on the European programme, which is dedicating a basic package of €300 million, set to expand, to structural projects in the archipelago over the coming years.
“A laboratory of innovation that is only possible because it is a strong democracy,” she added, asking, “What could attract investment more than a secure business environment based on the rule of law?”
The forum that ends today served to “identify many more investments, trade, opportunities and ensure that the EU will have an additional presence in Cabo Verde, for the benefit of Cabo Verde"s people,” said Myriam Ferran.
"Cabo Verde wants to be a laboratory to be the best model of governance for the Global Gateway," Olavo Correia, Deputy Prime Minister of Cabo Verde, with responsibility for finance, said in a speech aimed at strengthening the existing "complicity" with the EU.
He thanked European businesspeople, already present at all levels and in all sectors of activity, for “believing” in the country.
“If you believe, you deserve our love, affection and admiration. Cabo Verde embraces challenges and stands as a country of opportunities,” he said.
He challenged others to join the archipelago during the forum.
“We have the tools to do better and faster,” said Olavo Correia, but we will have to wait for the coming months to see if the contacts have had an effect.
Olavo Correia suggested improvements to partnerships with Europe: “Currently, we have a project implementation cycle that can become more efficient, as it spans several years and involves extensive bureaucracy both internally and externally.
Bruno Lopes, government director of Cabeólica, the country's leading renewable energy company, suggested a compromise between the minimum size required by funding programmes and the appetite that private companies in countries the size of Cabo Verde can exceed.
He also suggested speeding up the project scrutiny phase, because “securing financing quickly benefits investors”.
According to the EU, under the Global Gateway package, “the EU has already approved €344 million for structural projects in Cabo Verde”.
“The inauguration of the cruise passenger terminal in Mindelo, São Vicente, the works already underway in the port of Palmeira, in Sal, and the wind farms of Cabeólica, in Santiago, are concrete results of these investments”, with the largest projects currently in the preparation phase.
The largest amount, €159 million, will enable the expansion of the islands' wind farm and the production of clean electricity. Another axis of financing for the Cabo Verdean State is approximately €105 million, dedicated to the development of port infrastructure.
In the digital sector, €37 million in financial guarantees from the EIB is intended to facilitate investment in a new fibre optic cable, inter-island connections, and the modernisation of the mobile network.
Today's event also saw the announcement of a letter of intent for the French Development Agency's return to Cabo Verde, with planned support for the country's port sector, as well as a memorandum of understanding with Austrian cooperation to finance sanitation works on the island of Boa Vista.
LFO/ADB // ADB.
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