India- Cabo Verde Bilateral Brief

Political Relations:

India and Cabo Verde have warm and cordial relations. In the context of 150th Birth Anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi, the President of Cabo Verde Jorge Carlos Fonseca has written his thoughts on the subject: ‘What Gandhi means to me’. We closely collaborate in international fora. Cabo Verde signed ISA (International Solar Alliance) Framework Agreement in March 2018.

Visits / Exchanges:

Special Envoy of Prime Minister (SEPM) and Minister of State for Rural Development, Shri. Sudarshan Bhagat visited Cabo Verde in September, 2015 to personally invite the Cabo Verde President to participate in India Africa Forum Summit III (IAFS-III).

Cabo Verde delegation headed by Foreign Minister Mr. Tolentini Araujo Jorge participated in IAFS-III from 26-29^th October 2015. Minister of Economy and Employment of Cabo Verde, Mr. Jose Da Silva Gonçalves accompanied by Mr. Jose Corriea, Advisor, Ministry of Foreign Affairs participated at the 12th CII Eximbank Conclave held in New Delhi from 9-10, March 2017. Mr. Olavo Avelino Garcia, Minister of Finance of the Republic of Cabo Verde participated in the 52nd Annual Meeting of AfDB in Gandhinagar in May 2017. The Cabo Verdean Minister of Industry, Tade and Energy Dr. Alexandre Dias Monteiro participated in the First ISA Assembly and 2nd Re-Invest in Greater Noida (November 3-5, 2018). Dr. Julio Cesar Herbert Duarte Lopes, Minister Adjoint to Prime Minister for Regional Integration of Cabo Verde participated in the CII-EXIM Bank India-West Africa Regional Conclave in Abuja on October 8-9, 2018. Minister of Health and Social Security of Cabo Verde Mr. Arlindo Rosario participated in 4th Global Digital Health Partnership Summit hosted by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare in collaboration with World Health Organization (WHO) and the Global Digital Health Partnership (GDHP) from February 25 to 27, 2019 in New Delhi.

Commercial Relations:

Bilateral trade statistics as per DGCIS, Government of India, in US$ mns, for the past five years are given below:

India’s exports to Cabo Verde mainly consist of drugs & pharmaceuticals, cereals, vehicle parts and electrical components. India mainly imports iron and steel and other metal scrap, mainly copper and aluminum.

On March 3, 2017, Embassy of India organized a business event in collaboration with Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Services of Sotavento (CCISS). On February 22, 2018, again in collaboration with CCISS, Embassy of India organized a Business event-cum-Seminar in Praia. On January 17, 2019, Embassy organized a Business event in Mindelo (Cabo Verde) in collaboration with Chamber of Commerce of Barlavento.

Development Partnership:

Prime Minister of Cabo Verde Mr. Neves inaugurated the Pan African E-Network Project in Praia in July 2010;; the project aimed to give a fillip to tele-education and tele-medicine.

Bilateral development partnership programs include supply of computers by India, setting up of an IT Centre by India in Cabo Verde, fight against malaria and dengue fever, desalination plant, solar charging stations, etc.

For the academic year 2018-19, 15 slots for training in India under India Technical and Economic Cooperation Programme (ITEC) were utilized out of initial allotment of 10. 11 Cabo Verdeans participated in a short-term Special Yoga Course under ITEC organized at SVYASA in Bengaluru from February 4th to March 3rd, 2019.

Cultural Relations:

4th International Day of Yoga: Embassy of India, Dakar celebrated 4th International Day of Yoga 2018 in Praia, Cabo Verde at Quebra Canela on June 22, 2018.

A total of 9 Scholarship slots were provided under ICCR for the year 2018-19.

Indian community:

The Indian community in Cabo Verde numbers around a dozen.