Macaronesia can play “an important role in the European Union’s external cooperation,” argues Artur Lima.

The Vice-President of the Regional Government of the Azores met with the Prime Minister and also with the Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Finance, and Minister of Digital Economy of the Republic of Cape Verde. Issues of political cooperation between the archipelagos that make up Macaronesia were discussed.

For the Vice President of the Government, “this dimension of convergence” allows for the acquisition of “skills for true multilateral cooperation” in order to “face specifically island challenges” in areas such as the sea, science and technology, cybersecurity, and geostrategy.

“It is essential that the archipelagos of the Azores, Madeira, the Canary Islands, and Cape Verde act together with European institutions,” valuing the “geostrategic role we have as Macaronesia,” he said.

Artur Lima pointed out that “Europe needs Macaronesia for its relations with Africa, North America, and South America, because it gives it an extraordinary Atlantic dimension,” which is relevant to areas such as “maritime and air safety, defense, and space.”

In this sense, Macaronesia “can play an important role in the European Union’s external cooperation,” he said.

In the future, it is in this “geostrategic dimension that we must work with Cape Verde, Artur Lima asserted.

On this occasion, the issue of increased mobility and the possibility of establishing a new air link between Cape Verde and Boston, via Terceira, where there is a large Cape Verdean community, was also discussed.

The Vice President’s visit to Cape Verde followed the presentation of the projects approved in the first call for proposals of the InterregMAC (Madeira, Azores, Canary Islands) 2021-2027 Program, within the scope of the ATLANTE strategic project.

The ATLANTE project has the strategic objective of strengthening institutional cooperation between European and African regions and countries in the geographical area covered by the InterregMAC Program. At the same time, it aims to establish a framework for dialogue and collaboration in sectors of common interest. During the opening session, the Vice-President referred to the “cross-contextualities” between the Azores and Cape Verde, both composed of “nine inhabited islands, each distinct from the other, each with its own characteristics, weaknesses, potentialities, and challenges.”

The historical experience of the diasporas of the two archipelagos, particularly in the United States of America, and the presence of the Cape Verdean community established in the Azores, were also highlighted by the Vice President as evidence of the shared experience and existing ties between the parties.

Artur Lima also emphasized that the Azores were “the stage for the celebrations of the 50th anniversary of the Independence of the Republic of Cape Verde” in 1975, in Angra do Heroísmo.

In Diário Insular, José Lourenço-director and Armando Mendes (PhD), editor-in-chief.

Translated into English as a community outreach program by the Portuguese Beyond Borders Institute (PBBI) and the Modern and Classical Languages and Literatures Department (MCLL), in collaboration with Bruma Publication and ADMA (Azores-Diaspora Media Alliance) at California State University, Fresno. PBBI thanks Luso Financial for sponsoring NOVIDADES.