Prime Minister Luís Montenegro began a visit to Cape Verde this Saturday, his first outside Europe since taking office.

At a press conference, Montenegro spoke about the relations between the two countries, and the possibility of deepening them. "Relations that are historical, cultural, economic, and that are, in fact, quite deep. They are bilateral", he said, announcing that he had proposed to the Cape Verdean Prime Minister, Ulisses Correia e Silva, that the next summit between the two countries be held here, on November 19.

According to the head of government, bilateral meetings with businesspeople and economic agents will also take place on the sidelines of this summit. "To boost this dimension between the two countries", he justified, explaining that even this dimension has been materializing, as well as having "good results".

"There is no doubt that the investment of Portuguese companies in Cape Verde is a reality, which has generated job opportunities and has been a reason for development not only economically, but also environmentally, in collaboration with research and development processes, increased competitiveness - present and future. Of projecting and building the future", he said.

Montenegro also spoke about the 'aid' and cooperation between Portugal and Cape Verde, guaranteeing that the government will continue to want to develop "the mechanisms for the mobility of citizens" between the two countries. "We want these mechanisms to be consummated, namely, at the level of issuing visas more quickly and efficiently - in the coming months, we will try to meet the desire that people rightly have not to be at the mercy of less lawful and transparent processes, which is what we want to develop".

Asked by journalists about the measures announced regarding CPLP visas, and the 'tightening' of this network, Montenegro said: "I do not forget the circumstance of the Cape Verdean community that lives in Portugal. I have every interest as Prime Minister of Portugal in strengthening this relationship at the level of governments, of the administration of the two countries - in the respect and interest of welcoming and integrating the Cape Verdean community that lives in Portugal".

But regarding visas and migratory flows, Montenegro guaranteed that what could be expected was respect. "Respect for people's dignity. We are not talking about changing the rules", he said, acknowledging, however, that there are problems with applications that are received late by the Agency for Migration Integration and Asylum, which replaced the Foreigners and Borders Service. "This is harming people a lot in the first place. It is harming their reception and often causing - as is the case in Cape Verde - the use of people's suffering by networks that take advantage of vulnerable situations to extort resources", he said, promising agility to resolve issues that may raise problems.

Read Also: Montenegro in Cape Verde today and tomorrow. It is the 1st visit outside Europe (Portuguese version)