Marcelo spoke after a meeting with his Cape Verdean counterpart at the Presidential Palace in Praia.

At a joint press conference, the head of state was asked by journalists if the reparations that have been discussed, in addition to broader cooperation, could include more specific measures such as the restitution of works.

"There are imaginative ways" of cooperation that have emerged in the relationship between Cape Verde and Portugal, he said, citing the conversion of bilateral debt into climate investment, agreed in 2023, between the two governments as an example.

"It was unthinkable to reach a debt conversion into an internal fund for investment [in Cape Verde]. This was unthinkable a while ago, also because it was very new on a European and universal scale. And, therefore, we cannot put the brakes on what may come to be, in due time, on the part of the governments, new steps on a path of cooperation," he said.

Minutes earlier, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa had said, in an initial statement, that Portugal and Cape Verde are "always dissatisfied" with cooperation, always seeking to "go further, being aware of the reasons of the past that justify the new challenges of the future".

Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa said that the two countries have benefited from a "virtuous combination" of wills between governments and heads of state on both sides, who follow the advances that the two peoples are jointly pioneering.

The intense bilateral cooperation between the two countries has been highlighted on this visit.

The Cape Verdean President, José Maria Neves, recalled that the first cooperation agreement that Cape Verde established after independence, "when the coffers were empty", was with Portugal, which was followed by more agreements in all areas of daily life, from health to education.

"Cape Verde and Portugal constitute a huge reference in their relations, because we assume as a commitment to do everything to heal ourselves from the wounds of colonial fascism", said the Cape Verdean head of state, who since Tuesday, on several occasions, alongside Marcelo, has made a point of emphasising the "excellence" of relations between the two countries.

José Maria Neves said he hopes to receive Marcelo next year, for the celebrations of the 50th anniversary of Cape Verde's independence, and the Portuguese head of state gave a sign that he will be back in the archipelago with pleasure.

Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa is today on his last day of a visit to Cape Verde, which had its high point on Wednesday, with the ceremony that marked the 50th anniversary of the liberation of prisoners from the Tarrafal concentration camp.

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