Iohannis: Romania remains an advocate of deepening relations between EU and Cabo Verde

President Klaus Iohannis was received on Monday by Jose Maria Neves, the President of the Republic of Cabo Verde, at the Presidential Palace.The wives of the two heads of state also were in attendance of the official ceremony, where the national anthems of the two countries were sung, according to the images sent by the Presidential Administration.The Romanian President's visit to the Republic of Cabo Verde is an occasion for consultations between him and President Jose Maria Neves. The official programme includes meetings with the President of the National Assembly, Austelino Tavares Correia, Prime Minister Jose Ulisses Correia e Silva, and with the Mayor of the city of Praia, Francisco Avelino Carvalho. At the same time, Klaus Iohannis will have a meeting with former students from Cabo Verde who studied in Romania.Romania and the Republic of Cabo Verde established diplomatic relations on September 17, 1975, two months after the proclamation of this country's independence (July 5, 1975). Romania will remain an advocate of deepening relations between the European Union and Cabo Verde, president Klaus Iohannis said on Monday, while visiting the African state, the Presidential Administration informs.In a joint press statement with president José Maria Neves, Klaus Iohannis said that this country is, like Romania, "a place of respect" for democratic values."Romania will remain a supporter of deepening relations between the European Union and Cape Verde. They are already excellent and have been based, since 2007, on a special partnership, unique for an African country. Cabo Verde is a reliable ally of the European Union in international fora and in Africa. At the same time, Cabo Verde is the first and only African country to have a mobility partnership with the European Union," Iohannis said.He added that Cabo Verde is one of the states "with the most notable results in terms of respect for human rights and democratic governance" in Africa.According to president Iohannis, during bilateral talks he presented Romania's perspective on Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine."The negative effects of this aggression at global level are felt including on the African continent, especially on the food security dimension. President Neves gave me his assessment of the regional crises and we agreed on the need for stability in the Sahel region. I assured president Neves of Romania's commitment to the stabilisation and sustainable development of the Sahel. Romania supports the solutions identified by regional actors and supports African states in developing their capacity to ensure their own security," he stressed.Klaus Iohannis added that the bilateral relationship, established almost 50 years ago, persists primarily due to interpersonal ties. He stressed that cooperation would be stepped up in areas such as emergency management, combating climate change, agriculture and food security, education, research and innovation."The memorandums of cooperation on the management of emergency situations, in the sanitary-veterinary and education fields to be signed today reflect our desire to strengthen very good traditional relations," the Romanian president further said.   The head of state will end his visits to Africa on November 23. The last trip of this tour will be to the Republic of Senegal, where President Iohannis will hold political consultations with his counterpart, Macky Sall.The official programme of the President's visit also includes, among other things, his participation, along his counterpart from Senegal, in the inauguration of the United Nations House in Senegal, which will house the 34 UN agencies present in this country. President Iohannis will also have a meeting with former Senegalese students in Romania.