Our Cabo Verde office

Development cooperation relations between the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg and the Republic of Cabo Verde were established in 1987 and the first General Cooperation Agreement was signed in 1993. Cabo Verde thus became a partner country of the Luxembourg Cooperation. Cooperation between the two countries was strengthened in 2002 with the signing of the first Indicative Cooperation Programme (ICP) from 2002 to 2005, with a total budget of EUR 33.5 million. One year later, in early 2003, LuxDev, in agreement with the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs, Defence, Development Cooperation and Foreign Trade (MFA), decided to open a regional office in Praia.

In the beginning, the office covered both Senegal and Cabo Verde until the opening of a new regional office in Dakar in 2006. The Praia office has grown from a small, modest structure at the time of its opening to one that is still growing as the volume of activity in the country increases. The office is the link with local administrations and technical partners. Since November 2003, the LuxDev office has been located next to the MFA office in Praia. This proximity between the two entities facilitates the exchange of information and good coordination of operations.

The partnership between Cabo Verde and Luxembourg is based on solid foundations, notably thanks to the large Cape Verdean diaspora present in Luxembourg. The enrichment of the diaspora with Luxembourg culture and identity, through professional, economic and cultural networks and associations, contributes and continues to influence the relations between the two countries.

In 2005, the ICP II, signed for the period 2006 to 2010, has a total budget of EUR 45 million. The priority sectors of intervention are Education and Vocational Training, Health, Water and Sanitation and Food Aid.

In 2007, the MFA opened an embassy of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg in Praia and the second General Cooperation Agreement was signed in the same year. Cabo Verde graduated from the group of least developed countries to the group of middle-income countries in 2008.

ICP III (2011-2015), signed in 2010, sees a significant increase in its portfolio with EUR 60 million, while ICP IV (2016-2020) has an indicative envelope of EUR 45 million. In 2020, ICP V (2021-2025) is signed with a budget of EUR 78 million. The priority sectors are: Employment and employability, Water and sanitation, Local development, Climate action and Energy transition.

Cabo Verde was selected as a pilot country to benefit from a pan-governmental approach that aims to maximise the synergies of development with other policy areas, including the fight against climate change. This is therefore a major institutional innovation for the Luxembourg Cooperation, in that for the first time the MFA is involving the Ministry of the Environment, Climate and Sustainable Development and the Ministry of Energy in the development and implementation of a single multi-annual programme. Similarly, this new-generation ICP is based for the first time on the theory of change approach to implement the new programmes, which will then be translated into a theory of action.