"It's a fruitful cooperation between China and the Republic of Cape Verde that has been established since our independence. Throughout the years, we have implemented very positive and structural projects that benefit the development of Cape Verde," said Miryan Vieira, Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs and Cooperation of the Republic of Cape Verde, in an interview with GDToday.
Miryan Vieira emphasized the steady deepening of exchanges and cooperation between the two countries across political, economic, and cultural fronts. Notably, she highlighted the pivotal role of the Confucius Institute of the University of Cape Verde in fostering cultural exchanges between the two nations.
The Confucius Institute, a collaboration project between Guangdong University of Foreign Studies and the University of Cape Verde, was established in December 2015 and marks the first of its kind in Cape Verde. Over the years, it has organized various cultural events, such as the International Chinese Language Day, Chinese cultural festivals, and Chinese poetry concerts, allowing the people of Cape Verde to experience the charm of Chinese culture firsthand.
Underscoring the Institute's vital role, Miryan Vieira noted the escalating number of Chinese speakers and the growing global interest in Mandarin. "This is a very important mechanism to increase cultural ties with China. Because in order to promote cultural ties, you have to know more about the languages and other cultural aspects of both countries. Cape Verde has a lot of people who want to learn and know more about Chinese culture."
When discussing the cooperation between Cape Verde and Macao SAR, Miryan Vieira believes that Macao, as a gateway to the East, possesses crucial geographical advantage and serves as a platform for China to engage in broader cooperation with Portuguese-speaking countries, including Cape Verde.
"We have established a fruitful cooperation with Macao since the beginning of the 21st century. We have benefited from a scholarship program, which is a way to improve our capacity to build human capital in various significant areas, such as law. We have a lot of experts and lawmakers who also benefit from the scholarship and have studied in Macao."
She added that Cape Verde and Macao can cooperate in numerous fields in the future, such as tourism, finance, banking, climate change, blue economy, or even the gaming industry.
Reporter | Nan, Abby, Qin Shaolong
Editor | Xie Miaofeng, Ou Xiaoming, Steven, James
