Remarks Following Meeting With Cape Verde Foreign Minister Manuel SousaSecretary Colin L. PowellCape Verde September 6, 2002
I'm very pleased during this brief stop in Cape Verde that I was able to meet with Foreign Minister Sousa, and we spent some time discussing relations between the United States and Cape Verde. We are very pleased that we have good, strong relations with Cape Verde, and we have been so pleased to see the development of your democracy, your commitment to human rights, and the economic reform that you have undertaken over the years. I want to assure the Cape Verdean people that the United States will remain engaged and try to do everything we can to support Cape Verde. I also had the opportunity to thank the Foreign Minister for the support that the Cape Verdean government has given to the United States during the campaign against terrorism. There are issues we'll be working on in the months ahead: Cape Verde's ability to acquire funds from the Millennium Challenge account that President Bush has announced and other efforts that we would like to undertake to assist with investment and trade in Cape Verde. We will always be thankful that so many Cape Verdeans have settled in the United States. Really, we are, as the Foreign Minister noted, almost one country because of the strong relationship not only between Cape Verde and the United States as governments, but because of the continuing family relations between the Cape Verdeans who live in New England and the native Cape Verdeans. So it's a great pleasure to be here. I wish my trip could have been longer, but I look forward to a return. Thank you. Released on September 6, 2002 |
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