# Cabo Verde - United States Department of State

- Digital Press Briefing on the U.S.-Africa Business Summit Joy Basu, Deputy Assistant SecretaryBureau of African AffairsAlice Albright, CEO, Millennium Challenge CorporationReta Jo Lewis, President and Chair of the Board of Directors, Export-Import Bank of the United StatesMODERATOR:  Good afternoon to everyone from the U.S. Department of State’s Africa Regional Media Hub.  I welcome our participants logging in from across the continent and thank all of you for joining this discussion on the topic of the ongoing U.S.-Africa Business Summit in Dallas, Texas.  Today, we are very pleased to be joined by the U.S. Department of State’s Deputy Assistant Secretary for the Bureau of African Affairs, Joy Basu, the Chief Executive Officer of the Millennium Challenge Corporation, Alice Albright, and President of the Export-Import Bank of the United States, Reta Jo Lewis.  Our speakers will review the 2024 U.S.-Africa Business Summit in Dallas and how the U.S. works to increase trade and investment in Africa. We will begin today’s briefing with opening remarks from our speakers and then we’ll turn to your questions.  We’ll try to get to as many of them as we can during the briefing. So with that, I’d like to turn it over to the president of the Export-Import Bank of the United States, Reta Jo Lewis, for her opening remarks.  MS LEWIS:  Good morning and thank you very much.  It is such a pleasure to be here with all of you to speak about the Export-Import Bank of the United States’ commitment to fostering economic collaboration with nations in Africa.  The Export-Import Bank – as we call it, EXIM – is the official export credit agency of the United States.  We actually were established as of February – this February – 90 years ago.  EXIM has played a very critical role in fostering economic opportunity for U.S. companies and for partnering nations that American companies do business with around the world.   It is very exciting to be here at the Corporate Council on Africa’s U.S. annual meeting, and it has given us an opportunity to talk about the work that we have and to make some major announcements.  As those of you who do not know, EXIM offers direct loans, loan guarantees, and insurance products backed by the full faith and credit of the United States to support the exports of U.S.-made goods and services.   So we were actually proud to be able to announce that – on Tuesday, we announced alongside the president of Angola, where we participated in a signing ceremony to celebrate the closing of three key partnerships for global infrastructure and investment, PGII projects, in Angola.  The projects that we signed are historic direct loans for more than 900 million to support the construction of two solar energy power plants in Angola.  The project is the largest renewable energy project and largest transaction in Sub-Saharan Africa in EXIM’s 90-year history.   We also celebrated the closing of a 363 million transaction on the – our China and Transformational Export Program, which we call CTEP, which goes to support the export of small business Acrow Corporation’s prefabricated modular steel bridges and related equipment to construct bridge infrastructure across Angola.   And then the final transaction that we were able to announce with President Lourenço and signed by his minister of finance, Minister Vera Daves, was a final transaction for 42 million to support Gates Air’s export of EXIM – of FM transmitters, towers, training, and other equipment.  This authorization is going to help extend the Angolan Government’s ability to communicate by radio with approximately 95 percent of the country’s population.   These were projects that we were – have been working with the Government of Angola for the last year, and we know that these are the types of projects that epitomizes our commitment to the Biden-Harris administration’s PGII objectives, a collaborative effort by U.S. Government agencies to support sustainable, clean, resilient, and inclusive infrastructure projects. So our commitment to Sub-Saharan Africa is also one of our key mandates that Congress has placed on us since we were reauthorized in 2019 to make more financing available in Sub-Saharan Africa.  And we know there is still more work to be done.  We’re eager to continue building upon our strong work on the commitment – on the strong work on the continent and are excited to be here at the U.S.-Africa Business Summit to seek out additional new opportunities to support U.S. exporters doing business in Sub-Saharan Africa.   MODERATOR:  Thank you very much, Chair Lewis.  So for her opening remarks, now we’d like to go to CEO Alice Albright.  MS ALBRIGHT:  Thank you.  Thank you very much.  Good morning, good afternoon.  Wonderful to be with everybody.  So it’s a very exciting week for us.  There is, of course, as Chair Lewis has just said, the U.S.-Africa Business Summit going on.  It’s the 16th Summit, and there’s a lot of energy in the room, with a number of U.S. agencies there and then a number of participants, heads of state from the continent, and a number of businesses.  It was just a terrific – it is a terrific environment.   MCC has a lot going on in the continent.  One of the things that we also did this week was we celebrated 20 years of MCC being in operation.  We were started in 2004 by President Bush.  And since our founding, we’ve been squarely focused on working on the continent.  Of the $17 billion that we’ve invested globally so far, 10 billion of it has gone to the continent.  We’ve worked in 24 countries.  We’ve done – of the 10, almost all of it relates to infrastructure in one way or another.  We also have a lot going on right now in the continent.  We’ve got about $3 billion in active programs. So in addition to meeting with a lot of our partners, this week we also announced the implementation or the start of implementation of, as I’m very proud to say, our 79th program, and it is a $350 million program in Malawi to help farmers get their goods to market cheaper and faster.  So we are very excited about that.  We also had a chance to meet with a number of our bilateral partners – of course, President Chakwera was with us to announce the project.  We also had a wonderful meeting with President Neves from Cabo Verde.  Of course, Cabo Verde was one of our earliest partners at MCC, and we announced – well, we announced it earlier this year.  We had a chance to speak with him further about something that we think is going to be very interesting, which is a regional program with an island nation, and I think it speaks to that country’s very strong vision for the role that they occupy where they are.   From a trade and regional investment perspective, we think that our regional program is going to really be very additive to our work, and we’ve got a number of different regional programs that are in various states of play.   And then another program that we’re – I’m just jumping around a bit, but another program that we’re very excited about is our program in Mozambique we signed this past fall, and it’s a half-a-billion-dollar program that will focus on various aspects of infrastructure in Mozambique.  One big piece of it is a significant investment to restore the bridge that connects the southern – the Mocuba* Bridge that connects the southern part of the country to the northern part of the country, and it’s become very vulnerable due to flooding and other things to do with climate change.  So we’re very excited about that. We have a lot of other things going on.  We have currently $3 billion in active programs in the continent, and I’m happy to answer further questions about them if we have time.  But let me turn it back over to you all so you can get on to other questions.  Thank you. MODERATOR:  Thank you very much, CEO Albright.  So finally for her opening statement, let’s turn to Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Joy Basu. MS BASU:  Thank you so much, and thank you, everyone, for joining.  Good afternoon.  Thank you for your time today and thank you for the important work you do as journalists.  A free press is a critical part of a thriving democracy, and we know that those values go hand in hand with a thriving economy.  So thank you for the important work that you do, and we’re just very – I feel very lucky to be here with Chair Lewis and with CEO Albright.   I will just wrap up very quickly by saying it’s been a successful Summit for us so far, and it’s really exciting to see how much progress has been made with the U.S.-Africa trade relationship not only since the December 2022 U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit in Washington, but since I was with so many of you last summer in Gaborone at the CCA Summit last year.   We had a very comprehensive interagency delegation here to meet with the – I believe the final number of participants from CCA was 1,789, so almost 1,800 people were here.  And we had representation from across our interagency. As you heard from my colleagues, so much of the work that our interagency does is focused on energy and infrastructure, because that is so foundational to the work that other industries create.  We also had incredible deal signings with USTDA and Malawi, working on battery storage; with DFC and Sierra Leone, working on energy.  And we had meetings here to build on those industries with healthcare, with agriculture, and cross-functional industries like ICT. I think the goal of this is to really reiterate the U.S. commitment to Africa and the U.S. commitment to a 21st century economic partnership with the continent.  And the work here at USABS is really helping to partner with our African governments and African and American private sector to facilitate private sector-led economic growth and prosperity. So let me wrap there.  I’m very excited for your questions.  Thank you.  MODERATOR:  Well, thank you very much to each of our panelists today.  We’ll now begin the question-and-answer portion of today’s briefing. So for our first question today, we have a question from Mr. Andualem Sisay Gessesse of the New Business Ethiopia.  And his question is directed to Chair Reta Jo Lewis, and that question is this:  “Can you please explain the major achievements of the Export-Import Bank of the United States in advancing trade and investment with African countries over the past few years and your plans ahead to further enhance and support U.S. companies to invest in African countries and boost trade between the two sides?” So, Chair Lewis. MS LEWIS:  Yes, thank you so much for that question.  One of the things that we are very excited about is that EXIM, as I mentioned, is celebrating our 90th anniversary this year.  And our support for Africa really dates to nearly that beginning.  Since we did our first deal in Angola in 1942, EXIM has had a strong and reliable – and a trading partnership for Africa.  And so since 1997, that has been underscored by EXIM’s congressional mandate to build partnerships and increase financings in the region. I – in Fiscal Year 2023, not only did we – we approved over 1.6 billion in authorizations for Sub-Saharan Africa that I just mentioned, we also have undertaken over five trips and traveling throughout Africa, meeting not only with government officials but, of course, the private sector.  Because we know that it is going to be through public-private partnerships that we can all get this work done.  In the work that we’ve also done in support of U.S. exporters engaging with Africa is that we’ve signed six MOUs with African governments and institutions, as well as signing the memorandums of understanding with Tanzania, Cote d’Ivoire.  And we’re – each of these agreements have been designed to facilitate up to about 500 million in U.S. exports financing and deepen the commercial relationship with those countries. We are – we have been working very diligently with those on the continent where we have signed and begun work through MOUs totaling about 1.3 billion with the African Ex-Im Bank, with the Africa Finance Corporation, and then most recently with the Bank of Industry in Nigeria.  In total since I’ve joined EXIM, we have signed about 2.3 billion of MOUs.  And so we recognize that the continent is changing, and we’re committed to the administration’s various initiatives on Africa. You can see, by the MOUs that we have signed, we are prepared to work with African countries and partner with all stakeholders to ensure that our exporters compete on a level playing field.  And so we want to be partners in the work that all of us do in helping U.S. exporters contract with Africa, as well as as we work with the foreign buyers who want to – on the continent who want to purchase U.S. goods and services.   We know that as we have done – undertaken this work, we know that the needs around infrastructure, health care, women entrepreneurship are very vital for – and are vital, and investments for – are needed for economic growth and for job creation.  And so we stand ready as partners and collaborators to work with those on the continent. And as Alice mentioned, this conference has borne out to be very successful for us.  It is such high energy in the room, and to be able to see how far the relationships that we have garnered, along with others in the United States Government who are here in full force to support these efforts that the President has asked us to in building and strengthening and deepening our bilateral relationship.  And EXIM has been – is very proud to have done their part.  MODERATOR:  All right.  Thank you very much.  So we do have a question from Kemi Osukoya of Africa Bazaar magazine.  And I’d like to open Kemi’s mic and if Kemi can answer – ask that question live. QUESTION:  Hello, can you hear me?  MODERATOR:  Yes.  QUESTION:  Okay.  Thank you very much for taking my question.  And good morning and good afternoon to you guys.  My question is a two-part.  What percentage of the deals that were signed will be given to SMEs and women-owned businesses, both on the continent and as well as the U.S. entrepreneurs?  And the other part of my question is, being on the ground at events, you mentioned that you’re hearing feedbacks from the partners, with leaders.  So could you share some of those feedback that you hear regarding the work that you’re doing on the continent?  Thank you very much. MS LEWIS:  No, thank you very much for that question.  As it relates to SMEs, I think what a lot of – what we always like to say at EXIM is that we’re the bank for everyone.  And in being the bank for everyone, we have to strive exceptionally hard as we work with large, medium, and small businesses.  EXIM, when we were reauthorized in 2019, Congress gave us an additional mandate to make additional financing available in the small business arena, and not just – I call it not just small business for small business’s sake, but also to really drill down and go beyond a small business, but also around women entrepreneurship, around veterans, around – and rural communities, and really in the underserved populations. And so we’re very excited that with the agreements that have been signed on these particular deals that I just discussed in Angola, there is a significant amount of work that will be done in the supply chain, and most of those businesses are small business.  We have been – as we have worked through this process with Angola as well as with our own U.S. exporters, small business, they all know that small – that the small business exporters are very essential, and we’re going to be monitoring very, very closely what that looks like.   As it relates to – and then additional work that we have done to ensure that we reach those small businesses is to work with members in the diaspora.  The President announced – President Biden announced a diaspora council a few months ago, and one of the things that we’ve been really hard at work with them is to ensure that the work that we do at EXIM is expose to those members who are specifically focused on how do you develop and continue to build strong relationships with diaspora members throughout the continent.  So we’re really excited about the work that’s going to go forth in Angola and excited about the work that we do at EXIM overall, and the fact that last year, when we authorized the over $8.5 billion, 2 point – 2 billion of that was transactions that were in small business.  So we feel we are on target and on tap to reach those goals, as well as the fact that 90 percent – I think it’s like 88 percent, 88.5 percent – of the transition that EXIM does on a yearly basis is in the small business arena.  So we feel pretty confident that small business is going to be very much a part of the work that we’re doing, not only here in U.S. but those also in Angola and in Africa.  MODERATOR:  Thank you very much, Chair Lewis, for that response.  And we do have a lot of questions, and unfortunately, the time of our participants is limited, so we only have time probably for a few more questions today.  We did receive a question from Ms. Favour Okpale of BusinessDay in Nigeria, and the question is:  “African countries, including Nigeria, face enormous challenges, including inadequate power supply, lack of infrastructure, and security, among others.  Wondering whether these issues were on the front burner at this Summit; and in specific terms, are there concrete commitments from the U.S. to assist Nigeria and other African countries come out of this?”  And she also has a question about AGOA.  So I think if I could throw it to Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Basu for her take on this question.  MS BASU:  Perfect, thank you so much, and thank you again for the question.  We just came back, actually, from the bi-national mission in Abuja last week, which was co-chaired between Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell and Foreign Minister Tuggar, and we discussed these questions in depth there.  And so I will be brief right now as the readouts of those meetings come out.  But we had a large session on shared prosperity.  And we understand that the challenges that Nigeria are facing are quite acute, and we see them echoed across the continent – as you say, lack of infrastructure, increasing insecurity, and yes, the United States is committed to be a good partner across that spectrum.  What I would say is, in particular, we’ve made commitments both to work on the security situation, but also to, as you’ve heard today, work on infrastructure, whether that’s roads and bridges or that’s energy, huge challenges both in Nigeria and across the continent.  A few concrete commitments were to work on the business-enabling environment in Nigeria, and to make sure that American companies that are investing in Nigeria are having a transparent and positive experience to deliver those goods and services, and we see that across the continent.  We also talked about reaffirming the difficult but hard policy choices that Nigeria is making and that we see being made across the continent to really strengthen their economies.  So of course in Nigeria there’s been a lot of challenge with the currency, but it is hopefully something that will make the economy stronger and enable Nigerian businesses to thrive.  We see that work across the continent as African countries come out of the pandemic and try to come out from under quite significant debt burdens and foreign exchange challenges.  And so we are working closely both with our U.S. Treasury, with the central banks of African countries, particularly Nigeria, and the World Bank to make sure that these countries are on solid economic footing to really serve their people and meet the basic public needs, both first and foremost for their people, but also to create the public sector goods that then allow private sector companies to thrive. So let me pause there.  I’m happy to follow up afterwards as well.  Thank you.  MODERATOR:  All right, thanks very much.  So we have a question on MCC, and that came in from Sogah Blessed of Joy News TV in Ghana.  Sogah, I’d like to open your mic, but if you could please be very brief in asking your question because our time is very limited.  Thank you. QUESTION:  Thank you.  I’m grateful.  Thank you for the opportunity.  I’m asking this question because of a peculiar situation we face in Ghana in the energy sector, the power crisis.  In 2019 the MCC revoked a $190 million funding for the energy sector owing to some challenges we had with the privatization concession.  I’m asking, given the situation in which we find ourselves now, is the MCC willing to avail this crucial funding, or it will be on the condition that unless the Government of Ghana brings back the PDS concession, which was a privatization module, and at the MCC?  Thank you. MS ALBRIGHT:  Thank you for the question.  A couple – a couple of thoughts on Ghana.  We did have a compact with Ghana, and the compact is closed.  And we were able to complete a fair amount of that work.  Right now we don’t have any immediate plans to work again in Ghana, but we can always look again to see if Ghana may be – may become a country that we can work with again. Generally speaking with regard to energy, we’re working in a number of energy compacts across the continent right now, because I completely agree with you about how critical energy is to overall development, which is our main mandate. MODERATOR:  All right, thank you very much.  As I mentioned, our panelists’ time is very limited and I know that Chair Lewis has another commitment in a few minutes.  So I’d like to give her an opportunity to give some closing remarks if she has some closing thoughts for us.  MS LEWIS:  Well, thank you so much.  I think this has been a very important conversation.  We realize – we’re really excited to be able to talk with all the journalists this morning.  I think the thing that we want to emphasize at EXIM is that we have a vested interest in the continent.  But we have a vested interest about the people and improving peoples’ lives, not only in America but also in Africa.  And so that’s why we are here as well as the work that we have done over decades about building partnerships and collaborations.  And I just want to just continue to emphasize the fact that we are looking for ways of how to continue to work with all businesses, especially large, medium, and small, and that to end on saying that equity is a priority for us.  We proudly provide additional support for those critical businesses.  And so when we’re speaking about small business, we’re speaking about women entrepreneurship, we know that they have to overcome a number of challenges.  We know that access to capital is the number one thing to keep them from growing and expanding, and that’s why EXIM is proud to offer additional services to our U.S. exporters and to our foreign buyers and working with our small businesses as we continue to keep a spotlight on them.  And so we are offering the different products and services, and we stand ready to work with them whether it is through initial consultation, helping them as they analyze the opportunities, working – as we work alongside our Department of Commerce who is often leading number delegations that we participate in throughout the continent, and also working to assist small businesses and underserved populations and minority business with connections to resources.  We have a 20-year – five-year history of doing that work, and we have recently introduced some additional products that is going to go to the benefit of that community.  So we are really excited to have been able to have a few minutes to share with you our continued commitment to work on the continent.   MODERATOR:  All right, thank you very much.  And as I mentioned, our panelists’ time is limited, so I’d like to also ask Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Basu and also CEO Albright if they have any closing thoughts for us. MS BASU:  I will defer to CEO Albright first.  MS ALBRIGHT:  Thank you.  Just very, very briefly, we too at MCC are very committed to a very inclusive approach to economic growth.  We didn’t get to touch on it earlier, but we work in almost every country on either figuring out how to include women and women-owned businesses into our work or small and medium-sized businesses.  So this often takes the form of different reforms that are necessary to enable parts of the society that are typically not included to get included.  We’ve got some wonderful examples – one in Lesotho just recently where there were some laws that were changed to enable women to own – to inherit land.  We’ve got a terrific program that we’ve just closed out in Morocco that introduced opportunities to a range of people in that country.  We’ve got a wonderful program in Cote d’Ivoire, a partnership with Microsoft that is focusing on bringing digital skills to women entrepreneurs in Cote d’Ivoire.   So inclusive growth is very much a focus of our work, and I think we’re making good, slow, steady progress on it.  MODERATOR:  All right, thank you.  And finally for Deputy Assistant Secretary Basu.  MS BASU:  Happy to, and happy to quickly answer a couple of questions that were coming up earlier, one around the feedback that we’ve gotten.  The feedback has been for more.  Right, we want more U.S. companies, more trade.  The momentum is really great and we cannot let our feet off the pedal – our foot off the pedal when it comes to strengthening this economic partnership.   U.S. companies in Africa not only help raise standards, but the work that we do, as CEO Albright mentioned, really creates the enabling environment for all businesses to thrive – African businesses, multinational businesses, American businesses.  And we know the marketplace works better when there are more choices, and so we’re glad to be able to facilitate and foster that.  And so that’s the main feedback that we have heard across the last – that I’ve at last heard across the last few days, is for more, and a lot of excitement about momentum that’s been made so far.  There was also a question about AGOA, and I would defer to my colleagues in Congress, who really have the responsibility for reauthorizing AGOA since it is a law.  But I will emphasize that the Biden administration has expressed strong support for the reauthorization of AGOA and the modernization of AGOA.  We want to see it reauthorized in order to be – to continue to be the cornerstone of trade, but also to facilitate our utilization, and to be more impactful and more strategic.   And so we have had great conversations with our colleagues on the Hill, in Congress, and there is what we call bipartisan and bicameral support for AGOA, which I think really emphasizes that our Africa relationship is important across the United States.  However, we do need to see ways that that law will actually get signed, and so we are working closely with our partners in Congress to see what can be done.  My push to our African partners on the continent is to develop utilization strategies to increase their usage of AGOA, which is a really incredible unilateral program for African companies to export to the United States duty-free.  And we want to see more companies – small companies, large companies – take advantage of that.  And so my push to the African partners on the line is to increase awareness but also increase national strategies that will let small companies and large companies make the most of this benefit.  And that maybe leads to my final point, which is a push to all our journalists on the line, which is twofold.  One is to keep doing what you’re doing in bringing transparency to your local markets about what is happening, because that is what is required for economies to thrive, is that transparency and that information and accountability.  So thank you for the work you do there and the ways that enables democracy but also economic growth.  And so keep up that great work.   But also, help us to tell the good-news stories across Africa, but also across the U.S.-Africa business relationship.  I think in the last year there have been a lot of hard stories across Africa, and those are very important, and we are working as a U.S. Government to address the democratic backsliding and the incredible insecurity we’re seeing in many areas.  But one challenge in enabling U.S. businesses to come to Africa is the risk perception.  And so one thing our team does very closely is try to, on one hand, right-size that risk perception and tell the good-news stories of countries that are taking the right policy decisions, that do have the right enabling environments; and then, other side, working to actually reduce the risk of investing by helping shore up security, helping to foster democracy and reinforce democracy.   So I ask your partnership in both sides of that, both in bringing accountability where it’s required, but also in telling the good-news stories because we know there are so many incredible innovations and entrepreneurs, and the world needs those African entrepreneurs to solve the problems of the future, and you are an important conduit for making sure their stories are told.  So thank you. MODERATOR:  All right.  Well, that concludes today’s briefing.  I want to thank Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for the Bureau of African Affairs Joy Basu, Chief Executive Officer of the Millennium Challenge Corporation Alice Albright, and President of the EXIM Bank of the United States Reta Jo Lewis for joining us today.  Thank you also to all the journalists for participating.  As always, a recording and a transcript of today’s briefing will be distributed to participating journalists as soon as we can produce them.   If you have any questions about today’s briefing, you may contact us here at the Africa Regional Media Hub at AFMediaHub@state.gov.  I would also like to invite everyone to join us on Twitter, or X, at our handle @AfricaMediaHub.  Thank you very much and have a great day. # # # 
- Cabo Verde HomeReportsBureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor2023 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices&#8230;Cabo Verde				hide	document.addEventListener("DOMContentLoaded", function(event) {	if(window.jQuery) {		jQuery( document ).ready(function() {			if (jQuery(".bc_middle").hasClass("collapse")) {				jQuery(".bc_ellipse").click(function(){					jQuery(".bc_hide").toggleClass("visible");					jQuery(".bc_middle").toggle();					jQuery(".bc_ellipse").toggle();					jQuery(".bc_content").toggleClass("noflex");					jQuery(".block_breadcrumbs_content").toggleClass("noflex");				});				jQuery(".bc_hide").click(function(){					jQuery(".bc_hide").toggleClass("visible");					jQuery(".bc_middle").toggle();					jQuery(".bc_ellipse").toggle();					jQuery(".bc_content").toggleClass("noflex");					jQuery(".block_breadcrumbs_content").toggleClass("noflex");				});			} else {				jQuery(".bc_ellipse").hide();			}		});	}});																							2023 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices: Cabo Verde																																					Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor																																																																																							Download Report																																																							Translations																																																																 In this section										/																							EXECUTIVE SUMMARY																																													EXECUTIVE SUMMARY																															Section 1. Respect for the Integrity of the Person																																																									a. Arbitrary Deprivation of Life and Other Unlawful or Politically Motivated Killings																																																																											b. Disappearance																																																																											c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, and Other Related Abuses																																																																			Prison and Detention Center Conditions																																																																																																																		d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention																																																																			Arrest Procedures and Treatment of Detainees																																																																																																																		e. Denial of Fair Public Trial																																																																			Trial Procedures																																																								Political Prisoners and Detainees																																																																																																																		f. Transnational Repression																																																																											g. Property Seizure and Restitution																																																																											h. Arbitrary or Unlawful Interference with Privacy, Family, Home, or Correspondence																																																																																	Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties																																																									a. Freedom of Expression, Including for Members of the Press and Other Media																																																																			Internet Freedom																																																																																																																		b. Freedoms of Peaceful Assembly and Association																																																																											c. Freedom of Religion																																																																											d. Freedom of Movement and the Right to Leave the Country																																																																											e. Protection of Refugees																																																																																	Section 3. Freedom to Participate in the Political Process																																																									Elections and Political Participation																																																																																	Section 4. Corruption in Government																															Section 5. Governmental Posture Towards International and Nongovernmental Monitoring and Investigation of Alleged Abuses of Human Rights																															Section 6. Discrimination and Societal Abuses																																																									Women																																																																											Systemic Racial or Ethnic Violence and Discrimination																																																																											Children																																																																											Antisemitism																																																																											Trafficking in Persons																																																																											Acts of Violence, Criminalization, and Other Abuses Based on Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity or Expression, or Sex Characteristics																																																																											Persons with Disabilities																																																																																	Section 7. Worker Rights																																																									a. Freedom of Association and the Right to Collective Bargaining																																																																											b. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor																																																																											c. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment																																																																											d. Discrimination (see section 6)																																																																											e. Acceptable Conditions of Work																																																																																																							EXECUTIVE SUMMARY				There were no significant changes in the human rights situation in Cabo Verde during the year.There were no credible reports of significant human rights abuses.The government took credible steps to identify and punish officials who may have committed human rights abuses.																														Section 1.													 Respect for the Integrity of the Person												    																																																a. Arbitrary Deprivation of Life and Other Unlawful or Politically Motivated Killings										There were no reports the government or its agents committed arbitrary or unlawful killings, including extrajudicial killings.																																				b. Disappearance										There were no reports of disappearances by or on behalf of government authorities.																																				c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, and Other Related Abuses										The constitution and law prohibited such practices, and there were no credible reports government officials employed them.From January 1 to July 31, according to data compiled by National Police on allegations of police abuse, four cases were filed; one case resulted in a fine, and three cases were under investigation.																Prison and Detention Center Conditions						Prison conditions were deficient due to overcrowding and inadequate health and sanitary conditions.Administration: Authorities conducted investigations of credible allegations of mistreatment. The National Commission for Human Rights made regular prison visits and received prisoners’ complaints of inadequate provisions for health and hygiene, inadequate food, mistreatment by prison guards, poor security, inadequate access to lawyers, limitations on visits, extensive periods of preventive detention, and substandard prison facilities.Independent Monitoring: The government permitted formal visits by international human rights monitors to the prisons and individual prisoners. Nongovernmental organizations were permitted to visit prisons to record conditions.																										d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention										The constitution and law prohibited arbitrary arrest and detention and provided for the right of any person to challenge the lawfulness of their arrest or detention in court. The government generally observed these requirements.																Arrest Procedures and Treatment of Detainees						The National Police could not make arrests without a warrant from the Attorney General’s Office unless police apprehended the suspect in the act of committing a crime. Neither the National Police nor Judicial Police had authority to conduct investigations unless mandated by the Attorney General’s Office. The law stipulated a suspect needed to be brought before a judge within 48 hours of arrest. The law provided a detainee the right to prompt judicial determination of the legality of the detention, and authorities respected this right. There was a functioning bail system. Authorities allowed detainees prompt access to a lawyer of the detainee’s choice. If a detainee was unable to afford a lawyer, the Cabo Verdean Bar Association appointed one.																										e. Denial of Fair Public Trial										The constitution and law provided for an independent judiciary, and the government generally respected judicial independence and impartiality.																Trial Procedures						The constitution and law provided for the right to a fair and public trial, and an independent judiciary generally enforced this right. The law also provided for a public nonjury trial without undue delay, but cases often continued for years.						Political Prisoners and Detainees						There were no reports of political prisoners or detainees.																										f. Transnational Repression										Not applicable.																																				g. Property Seizure and Restitution										Not applicable.																																				h. Arbitrary or Unlawful Interference with Privacy, Family, Home, or Correspondence										The constitution and law prohibited such actions, and there were no reports the government failed to respect these prohibitions.																																					Section 2.													 Respect for Civil Liberties												    																																																a. Freedom of Expression, Including for Members of the Press and Other Media										The constitution and law provided for freedom of expression, including for members of the press and other media, and the government generally respected this right. An independent press, an effective judiciary, and a functioning democratic political system combined to promote freedom of expression, including for media members.																Internet Freedom						The government did not restrict or disrupt access to the internet or censor online content.																										b. Freedoms of Peaceful Assembly and Association										The constitution and law provided for the freedoms of peaceful assembly and association, and the government generally respected these rights.																																				c. Freedom of Religion										See the Department of State’s International Religious Freedom Report at  www.state.gov/religiousfreedomreport/.																																				d. Freedom of Movement and the Right to Leave the Country										The law provided for freedom of internal movement, foreign travel, emigration, and repatriation, and the government generally respected these rights.																																				e. Protection of Refugees										The government ratified but did implement the 1951 UN Protocol on the Status of Refugees. The country established neither legislation nor an institutional body for granting asylum or refugee status. Because the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) had no established presence in the country, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) referred asylum seekers requesting protection and assistance to the UNHCR regional representation for West Africa in Dakar, Senegal, which conducted refugee status determinations with IOM collaboration.Access to Asylum: The law did not provide for the granting of asylum or refugee status, and the government did not establish a formal system for providing protection to refugees. Asylum applications were rare, and there was no systematic procedure in place to register and process asylum claims. There were no reports during the year of any applications. Temporary protection mechanisms and access to basic services were in place for asylum seekers while they awaited a decision.																																					Section 3.													 Freedom to Participate in the Political Process												    																						The law provided citizens the ability to choose their government in free and fair periodic elections held by secret ballot and based on universal and equal suffrage.																										Elections and Political Participation										Abuses or Irregularities in Recent Elections: National elections were widely reported to be fair and free of abuses and irregularities.Participation of Women and Members of Marginalized or Vulnerable Groups: The National Elections Commission did not allow some persons with mental disabilities to vote (see section 6, Persons with Disabilities).																																					Section 4.													 Corruption in Government												    																						The law provided criminal penalties for corruption by officials, and the government generally implemented the law effectively. There were no reports of government corruption during the year.																											Section 5.													 Governmental Posture Towards International and Nongovernmental Monitoring and Investigation of Alleged Abuses of Human Rights												    																						Domestic and international human rights groups generally operated without government restriction and were able to monitor or investigate human rights conditions or cases and publish their findings. Government officials were often cooperative and responsive to the views of these groups.Government Human Rights Bodies: The National Commission for Human Rights worked on all nine inhabited islands to protect, promote, and reinforce human rights, rights of citizenship, and international humanitarian law, and it raised the profile of human rights topics in public media and discussion.																											Section 6.													 Discrimination and Societal Abuses												    																																																Women										Rape and Domestic Violence: Conviction for rape of women and men was punishable by eight to 16 years’ imprisonment, and conviction for domestic violence was punishable by one to five years’ imprisonment. The law implicitly covered spousal rape; penalties for conviction ranged from one to five years’ imprisonment. The law called for increasing protection of victims, raising awareness of gender-based violence, and establishing several care centers with financial and management autonomy, but implementation lagged due to inadequate staffing. The government did not always enforce laws against rape and domestic violence effectively. Gender-based violence and discrimination against women were significant problems.The National Police regularly accompanied survivors of sexual violence and other forms of gender-based violence to the hospital and escorted them to their homes to collect their belongings. Police officers helped survivors go to a safe location. During the year, the government created a fund to help survivors with psychological and legal assistance, as well as to provide food and clothing when needed. The Cabo Verdean Institute for Gender Equality and Equity ran five shelters on four islands, two on Santiago and one each on Fogo, Sao Vicente, and Boa Vista.Other Forms of Gender-based Violence or Harassment: The law criminalized sexual harassment, although it did not refer to online harassment. Authorities generally enforced the law, but sexual harassment was common.Discrimination: The law, including that related to family, religious, personal status and nationality, labor, property, inheritance, employment, access to credit, and owning or managing business or property, provided for the same legal status and rights for women as for men, and the government enforced the law somewhat effectively.Gender-based discrimination in employment occurred. According to the National Institute of Statistics, men received on average 15 percent more in wages than women. In some sectors of the formal economy, women received lower salaries than men for equal work. Women were also more likely than men to work in the informal economy, where remuneration was generally lower and labor protections not enforced.Reproductive Rights: There were no reports of coerced abortion or involuntary sterilization on the part of government authorities. Health care facilities provided emergency care, including postabortion care. Emergency contraception was available at family planning centers throughout the country. The centers also provided skilled assistance and counseling before and after childbirth and sexual and reproductive health services, including for survivors of sexual violence. Emergency contraception was available as part of clinical management of rape. Postnatal services included family planning and free oral and injectable contraceptives. When girls became pregnant while still in school, they generally dropped out and did not resume their education, although there was no requirement that they drop out.																																				Systemic Racial or Ethnic Violence and Discrimination										The constitution provided protections against racial discrimination and upheld the rights of immigrants and foreigners. In addition, the law prohibited discrimination in employment and criminalized activities that incited racial discrimination, hatred, or violence. The government enforced these laws effectively. In March, the government’s High Authority for Migration launched an information campaign aimed primarily at schools to combat discrimination against immigrants.The law prohibited discrimination in employment and occupation based on race, religion, color, sex, disability, language, sexual orientation, gender identity, political opinion, ethnic origin, age, HIV-positive status or having other communicable diseases, or social status. The law did not, however, explicitly prohibit discrimination based on national origin, although the government took actions to ensure rights of immigrants and foreigners were protected. The government somewhat effectively enforced the law, and penalties for violation were commensurate to those related to civil rights. Penalties were rarely applied against violators.																																				Children										Child Abuse: Laws prohibited physical, psychological, and moral violence against children, including sexual violence. The government employed a national network to combat child abuse that included the child welfare government body Institute for Children and Adolescents, various police forces, the Attorney General’s Office, hospitals, local civil society organizations, and health centers. The government carried out a national action plan to prevent and combat sexual abuse and violence against children and adolescents for the years 2022 to 2024. The Institute for Children and Adolescents maintained a presence on all inhabited islands.Child, Early, and Forced Marriage: The legal minimum age of marriage was 18, and the government enforced the law.Sexual Exploitation of Children: The law punished those who fomented, promoted, or facilitated commercial sexual exploitation or sexual exploitation of children younger than age 17. The law punished those who induced, transported, or provided housing or created the conditions for sexual exploitation and commercial sexual exploitation of children younger than 17 in a foreign country. The law prohibited the exploitation of children younger than 18 in pornography. The minimum legal age for consensual sex was 16. Sexual relations with a child younger than 14 were considered a public crime and invoked mandatory reporting from anyone aware of the crime. By law, sexual relations with children ages 14 and 15 was a crime and could be reported by any involved party (the child or the child’s parents or guardians).Authorities generally enforced laws against sexual exploitation of children. The government continued efforts to prevent the sexual exploitation of children through a national coordinating committee. The government also enforced the Ethics Code of Conduct for Tourism, which included provisions countering child sex tourism. The Observatory for Monitoring and Rapid Identification of Trafficking in Persons, which assembled numerous government agencies and partners, held meetings to advance priorities related to human trafficking, including child sex trafficking.																																				Antisemitism										The Jewish community was very small, and there were no reports of antisemitic incidents.																																				Trafficking in Persons										See the Department of State’s Trafficking in Persons Report at  https://www.state.gov/trafficking-in-persons-report/.																																				Acts of Violence, Criminalization, and Other Abuses Based on Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity or Expression, or Sex Characteristics										Criminalization: There were no laws criminalizing consensual same-sex conduct between adults or so-called cross-dressing or debauchery. There were no reports of facially neutral laws, such as immorality or loitering, being disproportionately applied to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, or intersex (LGBTQI+) persons.Violence and Harassment: There were no reports of police or other government agents inciting, perpetrating, condoning, or tolerating violence against LGBTQI+ individuals or those reporting such violence. There were no reported instances of state or nonstate actor violence targeting LGBTQI+ persons during the year.Discrimination: Antidiscrimination laws existed, and state and nonstate employers were prohibited from discriminating on the basis of sexual orientation; the law did not explicitly prohibit discrimination based on gender identity or expression, or sex characteristics. Laws prohibited discrimination in the provision of a good or service, engaging in normal economic activities, and employment. The government generally enforced these laws.Availability of Legal Gender Recognition: Legal gender recognition was not available.Involuntary or Coercive Medical or Psychological Practices: There were no reports of forced or involuntary so-called conversion therapy practices nor of efforts to condemn or limit them.Restrictions of Freedom of Expression, Association, or Peaceful Assembly: There were no laws or other restrictions on individuals speaking or media reporting on LGBTQI+ matters, on the ability of LGBTQI+ individuals to assemble in public or private or to form associations, or on the ability of LGBTQI+ organizations to legally register or convene events.																																				Persons with Disabilities										Persons with disabilities could access education and health care on an equal basis with others, although there were some problems with equal access to public buildings, communications, and transportation. The government generally enforced such access effectively and made information available in accessible formats.The law prohibited discrimination against persons with disabilities and provided for access to services in the areas of employment, training, health, housing, transportation, mobility, culture, sports, and leisure. According to the National Elections Commission, persons with intellectual or mental disabilities, as determined by the Ministry of Health, were not allowed to vote if they were deemed not to have the mental capacity to exercise that right.																																					Section 7.													 Worker Rights												    																																																a. Freedom of Association and the Right to Collective Bargaining										The law provided for the rights of workers to form or join unions of their choice, to engage in collective bargaining, and to conduct legal strikes. The labor code provided for protection against antiunion discrimination and for the reinstatement of workers who were unfairly dismissed.The law designated certain jobs essential and limited workers’ ability to strike in associated industries. Services provided by telecommunications, justice, meteorology entities, health, firefighting, postal service, funeral services, water and sanitation services, transportation, ports and airports, private security, and the banking and credit sectors were considered indispensable. The law stated the government could force the end of a strike when there was an emergency or to ensure the smooth operation of businesses or essential services of public interest. The law and custom allowed unions to carry out their activities without interference.The government respected workers’ right of freedom of association and the right to collective bargaining and effectively enforced applicable laws in the formal sector outside of the essential jobs list. Penalties for violations were commensurate with those for other laws involving denial of civil rights and were regularly applied against violators.																																				b. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor										See the Department of State’s Trafficking in Persons Report at  https://www.state.gov/trafficking-in-persons-report/.																																				c. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment										See the Department of Labor’s Findings on the Worst Forms of Child Labor at  https://www.dol.gov/agencies/ilab/resources/reports/child-labor/findings .																																				d. Discrimination (see section 6)																																														e. Acceptable Conditions of Work										Wage and Hour Laws: The law stipulated a monthly minimum wage greater than the official estimate of the poverty income level. The law stipulated a maximum of eight hours of work per day and 44 hours per week, including mandatory rest periods, the length of which depended on the work sector. Although companies tended to respect laws on working hours, many employees, such as domestic workers, health-care professionals, farmers, fishers, and commercial workers, commonly worked for longer periods of time than the law allowed.Occupational Safety and Health: The law set minimum occupational safety and health (OSH) standards and gave workers the right to decline work if conditions posed serious risks to health or physical integrity. In specific high-risk sectors, such as fishing and construction, the government could and often did provide, in consultation with unions and employers, OSH rules. The Inspectorate General for Labor inspections detected irregularities in compliance with health and safety standards, including violations concerning the right to vacation time and the right to rest between work periods.Workers could terminate the employment relationship in the event of a serious threat to their health or physical integrity, but the law did not protect the employment of workers who withdrew from a work situation that endangered health or safety. Many work-related accidents occurred in the construction sector.Wage, Hour, and OSH Enforcement: The government effectively enforced minimum wage, overtime, and OSH laws. The penalties for violations were commensurate with those for similar crimes, such as fraud or negligence, and penalties were regularly applied against violators. The Inspectorate General for Labor and the Directorate General for Labor were the main agencies responsible for enforcing wage, hour, and OSH laws. The number of labor inspectors was sufficient to enforce compliance. Labor inspectors had the authority to make unannounced inspections and initiate sanctions. They carried out inspections of workplaces throughout the country to check for and deter violations.According to the National Institute of Statistics, approximately 52 percent of jobs were in the informal economy, including domestic work and self-employment in tourism, trade, agriculture, livestock-raising, and fishing. Informal sector workers were not covered by wage, hour, OSH, or other labor laws and inspections.																																				    							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Respect for the Integrity of the Person																																							a. Arbitrary Deprivation of Life and Other Unlawful or Politically Motivated Killings																																																						b. Disappearance																																																						c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, and Other Related Abuses																																																				Prison and Detention Center Conditions																																																																																				d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention																																																				Arrest Procedures and Treatment of Detainees																																																																																				e. Denial of Fair Public Trial																																																				Trial Procedures																																												Political Prisoners and Detainees																																																																																				f. Transnational Repression																																																						g. Property Seizure and Restitution																																																						h. Arbitrary or Unlawful Interference with Privacy, Family, Home, or Correspondence																																																			Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties																																							a. Freedom of Expression, Including for Members of the Press and Other Media																																																				Internet Freedom																																																																																				b. Freedoms of Peaceful Assembly and Association																																																						c. Freedom of Religion																																																						d. Freedom of Movement and the Right to Leave the Country																																																						e. Protection of Refugees																																																			Section 3. Freedom to Participate in the Political Process																																							Elections and Political Participation																																																			Section 4. Corruption in Government																Section 5. Governmental Posture Towards International and Nongovernmental Monitoring and Investigation of Alleged Abuses of Human Rights																Section 6. Discrimination and Societal Abuses																																							Women																																																						Systemic Racial or Ethnic Violence and Discrimination																																																						Children																																																						Antisemitism																																																						Trafficking in Persons																																																						Acts of Violence, Criminalization, and Other Abuses Based on Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity or Expression, or Sex Characteristics																																																						Persons with Disabilities																																																			Section 7. Worker Rights																																							a. Freedom of Association and the Right to Collective Bargaining																																																						b. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor																																																						c. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment																																																						d. Discrimination (see section 6)																																																						e. Acceptable Conditions of Work																																																									Tags																					Bureau of African Affairs																								Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor																								Cabo Verde
- Secretary Blinken’s Remarks Following Visit to Porto de Praia Antony J. Blinken, Secretary of StatePraia, Cabo VerdeSECRETARY BLINKEN:&nbsp; It’s wonderful to be here in Cabo Verde and the port of Praia.&nbsp; We start this trip to Africa here in Cabo Verde because it is quite literally a gateway to Africa for countries around the world, including for the United States.&nbsp; And a big part of that gateway is this port.&nbsp; One of the things I’m very proud of is the fact that, thanks to the Millennium Challenge Corporation, the United States was able to invest significantly in modernizing and upgrading this port so that its capacity was dramatically expanded in terms of the number of ships that it could bring in, the efficiency of the port also dramatically increased so that ships could be processed much more quickly, the storage capacity around the port also built up, and all of that has created an incredibly vibrant place and a much stronger gateway to Africa for us and for so many other countries.We also see that in the fact that this expansion project has produced jobs right here in Cabo Verde.&nbsp; And we’re also seeing Cabo Verde become increasingly a destination for tourism, for cruise ships, all of that thanks to work that was done in large part through the Millennium Challenge Corporation.&nbsp; Cabo Verde is the only country in the world to have completed two Millennium Challenge Corporation compacts, and now it’s embarking on a third, but a third that will really focus on regional connectivity and on integration and strengthening ties economically among countries in West Africa.So we couldn’t be more pleased and more proud for this partnership with Cabo Verde, and it seems like a very fitting place to start this trip to Africa that’ll take us now to&nbsp;Côte d&#8217;Ivoire, Nigeria, and on to Angola.&nbsp; And it’s further evidence of the fact that, as President Biden said, the United States is all in with Africa.&nbsp; We see Africa as an essential, critical, central part of our future.&nbsp; The partnerships between the United States and Africa were a big focus of the work that we did at the Africa Leaders Summit in Washington and, most important, the work that we continue to do ever since that summit in following through on the commitments and the agreements that were made there.&nbsp; This trip is a big part of that, and it really does focus on President Biden’s commitment and conviction that the United States and Africa are joined in partnership for the future.&nbsp; So thanks very much and glad to be able to bring you to the port.						Tags																					Bureau of African Affairs																								Cabo Verde																																Millennium Challenge																															Office of the Spokesperson																																Secretary Trip																															The Secretary of State
- Secretary Blinken and Cabo Verdean Prime Minister Ulisses Correia e Silva Before Their Meeting Antony J. Blinken, Secretary of StateCabo Verdean Prime Minister Ulisses Correia e SilvaPraia, Cabo VerdePRIME MINISTER SILVA:&nbsp;(Via interpreter) Good morning, Your Excellency Secretary of State Antony Blinken.&nbsp; Welcome to Cabo Verde.&nbsp; A special visit of yours to Cabo Verde, to the city of Praia, strengthens our excellent relations between Cabo Verde and United States of America.&nbsp; This visit to four African countries that begins in Cabo Verde is an example of the Biden administration’s genuine interest in win-win partnerships with Africa.Cabo Verde is a longstanding and consistent partner of the U.S.&nbsp; We have a diaspora of thousands of American Cape Verdeans, Cape Verdean American citizens who are proud of their origins.&nbsp; We share values of democracy, good governance, respect for human rights, and a defense of human dignity.History, diaspora, and values are the foundations of our relations.&nbsp; That’s why they are strong in structure.&nbsp; In general, Cape Verde’s foreign relations are guided by the values of liberal democracy, international law, and multilateralism, and by predictability, consistency, and trust in our partnerships.&nbsp; It is based on these references that we strongly condemn Russians’ – Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, we condemned the terrorist act of Hamas in Israel, and we defend solutions that make the two states of Israel and Palestine viable.&nbsp; We condemn coup d’etat and changes to constitutional term limits for presidents of the republic that have occurred in Africa.&nbsp; We clearly and explicitly define the U.S.A., Brazil, the united European Union, and the UK as strategic partners for cooperative security and defense.In relation to our partnership, I would like to express my gratitude for your support in the fight against COVID-19.&nbsp; Vaccines have been decisive in the good fight we have waged against COVID.&nbsp; As a demonstration of this, Cape Verde is one of the higher – has one of the higher rates of vaccination, and we are thankful for the quick and consistent response of the U.S.A.To recognize another Millennium Challenge Account compact is an important distinction for Cape Verde (inaudible) to underline the important investment in the construction of the new embassy of the United States in Cabo Verde, specifically in the city of Praia, and underlined the important investment in the construction of the U.S. embassy.We recognize the partnership program with the National Guard of the state of New Hampshire in the training and technical assistance of our coast guard.&nbsp; I personally witnessed this partnership.&nbsp; We want to strengthen our relations in terms of (inaudible) diplomatic dialogue of attracting investment and exports, training, science and technology, and the spread of the English language for the development of our country.&nbsp; The massification of the English language is strategic for developing the potential of tourism; business; technological, scientific, and academic connectivity in a country open to the world and with a high level of economic freedom.&nbsp; In this sense, we would like to have the Peace Corps return to Cabo Verde.We believe that partnership for development and cooperative security should go hand in hand.&nbsp; It is in our common interest for the developed countries and partners.&nbsp; We would like to strengthen our partnership with the U.S. in maritime security and cyber security from a regional, global perspective – the structured, predictable, and sustained partnership.&nbsp; We have good topics for conversation during our work (inaudible).&nbsp; Thank you, and I’ll give you the floor.SECRETARY BLINKEN:&nbsp; Prime Minister, thank you for the incredible warmth of your welcome, and I also mean that literally.&nbsp; We’ve just come from the snows of Washington, D.C. to quite literally the warmth of Cabo Verde.&nbsp; We’re so delighted to be here.(Interruption.)Very good.&nbsp; Thank you.&nbsp; As you said, Mr. Prime Minister, we are here on the first day of a trip that takes us from Cabo Verde to&nbsp;Côte d&#8217;Ivoire and then on to Nigeria and finally to Angola, and this trip – and by the way, I believe the last time a secretary of state was in Cabo Verde was more than 20 years ago with Secretary Powell, and I’m thrilled to follow in his footsteps.&nbsp; But we’re here in Cabo Verde, in Africa because, as President Biden has said, our futures are linked, our prosperity is linked, our people are linked.&nbsp; And African voices increasingly are shaping, animating, and leading the world in conversation.The United States is committed to deepening, to strengthening, to broadening our partnerships across Africa, partnerships that benefit Africans and Americans alike.&nbsp; As President Biden has said, we are all in when it comes to Africa.&nbsp; But I have to tell you there’s a good reason that we’re starting here in Cabo Verde, and that’s because you have been and you are a remarkable partner for the United States.&nbsp; And as you’ve said, Prime Minister, this is a partnership that is based fundamentally on shared values as well as shared interests, and also a deep history together.&nbsp; Assistant Secretary Phee was just telling me of a Cabo Verdean who played a prominent role in our own Civil War, and we have so much history since then, and very strong communities of Cabo Verdeans in the United States who contribute in remarkable ways to our country.But in our own relationship, I believe that the work we’ve already done and that we can build on in terms of our economic partnership is absolutely critical.&nbsp; It is extraordinary that Cabo Verde is the first country to complete two Millennium Challenge Corporation compacts, and now you’re starting to build a third one.&nbsp; I’m deeply honored that we were able through one of the compacts to make substantial investments in the port here of Praia, and that’s had manifest benefits for the port.&nbsp; In fact, I look forward to visiting it a little while later.We’ll have a lot on our agenda, as you’ve suggested.&nbsp; One of the things that we’ll focus on, health and health security – I have to congratulate you on the malaria -free certification for Cabo Verde, which is also a remarkable achievement.&nbsp; But along with health, along, of course, with climate, which we know animates your government and animates our partnership, I have to also tell you that for the United States, Cabo Verde is truly a beacon of stability in the region at a time when there is more than our share of instability and challenge.&nbsp; And, of course, that goes well beyond the region of West Africa.&nbsp; We see it in different parts of the world.&nbsp;But the work that you’ve done – and we’ve been proud to partner with you – for example, on law enforcement, on drug interdiction, seizing more than 30 tons of cocaine in recent years, has been very significant.&nbsp; And beyond that, in our own partnership, working with you on your coast guard, restoring vessels, as well as strong packages to support U.S.-built aircraft here in Cabo Verde that are so critical to maintaining maritime domain awareness, making sure that, for a country that is 99 percent sea, that you have a complete picture of what’s happening around you.You also noted and I must underscore as well the global issues where we’ve been partnered.&nbsp; I have to thank you, thank you for deeply, for the strong, principled voice Cabo Verde has brought to international conversations, international discussions, international work at the United Nations and beyond.&nbsp; We see this in some of the very difficult issues that you’ve tackled from a place of principle, including Russia’s aggression against Ukraine.&nbsp;We’re also building partnerships that are founded in multilateral work in other critical ways that will really be to the benefit of Cabo Verdeans and Americans alike – our new Partnership for Atlantic Cooperation, where Cabo Verde is playing a leading role, and we are grateful for that – and then, as I mentioned as well, a strong voice around the world on climate, because you know better than so many the effects both now and potential when it comes to climate change.&nbsp; But building a blue economy – that too is I think a very powerful part of our partnership.Prime Minister, you said something very powerful that I just want to repeat, and that is that your true source of wealth, of richness is in the peace, security, stability, and democracy that Cabo Verde enjoys.&nbsp; And we want to leverage those strengths to the benefit of Cabo Verdeans but also Americans and, in fact, the entire world.&nbsp; So it’s in that spirit that we’re here today – a spirit of partnership, a spirit of admiration for the work that you’ve done, and a determination to do even more together between the United States and Cabo Verde.&nbsp; We’re grateful for your welcome, your hospitality.&nbsp; And of course – I saved the best for last –&nbsp;congratulations&nbsp;on making the knockout round in the Africa Cup.&nbsp; We’ll be looking, we’ll be watching carefully, and – don’t tell anyone – we’re cheering for you.&nbsp; (Laughter.)&nbsp; So thank you so much.PRIME MINISTER SILVA:&nbsp; Thank you.						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- Secretary Blinken’s Meeting with Cabo Verdean Prime Minister Correia e Silva Office of the SpokespersonThe below is attributable to Spokesperson Matthew Miller:Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken met with Cabo Verdean Prime Minister Ulisses Correia e Silva today in Praia.&nbsp; Secretary Blinken congratulated Prime Minister Correia e Silva on Cabo Verde’s malaria-free certification by the World Health Organization and its selection as eligible to develop a Millennium Challenge Corporation compact for the purpose of regional economic integration.&nbsp; The Secretary and the Prime Minister emphasized the importance of the U.S.-Cabo Verde partnership for advancing security and prosperity in the Atlantic Basin, West Africa, and around the world. &nbsp;The Secretary welcomed the shared values between the United States and Cabo Verde in promoting democracy, good governance, and human rights.						Tags																					Bureau of African Affairs																								Cabo Verde																								Office of the Spokesperson																																Secretary Trip																															The Secretary of State
- Travel to Cabo Verde, Cote d’Ivoire, Nigeria, and Angola, January 21-26, 2024 HomeTravel to Cabo Verde, Cote d’Ivoire, Nigeria, and Angola, January 21-26, 2024				hide		if(window.jQuery) {		jQuery( document ).ready(function() {			if (jQuery(".bc_middle").hasClass("collapse")) {				jQuery(".bc_ellipse").click(function(){					jQuery(".bc_hide").toggleClass("visible");					jQuery(".bc_middle").toggle();					jQuery(".bc_ellipse").toggle();					jQuery(".bc_content").toggleClass("noflex");					jQuery(".block_breadcrumbs_content").toggleClass("noflex");				});				jQuery(".bc_hide").click(function(){					jQuery(".bc_hide").toggleClass("visible");					jQuery(".bc_middle").toggle();					jQuery(".bc_ellipse").toggle();					jQuery(".bc_content").toggleClass("noflex");					jQuery(".block_breadcrumbs_content").toggleClass("noflex");				});			} else {				jQuery(".bc_ellipse").hide();			}		});	}																										Travel to Cabo Verde, Cote d’Ivoire, Nigeria, and Angola, January 21-26, 2024																																																																																																																																																																																																																																																																																																																																																																																																																																																																																																																																																																																																																																																																																																																																																																																																																																																																																																																																																																																																																																																																																																																																																																																																																																																																																																																																																																																																																																																																																																																																																																																																																																																																																																																																																																																																																																																																																																																																																																																																																																																																																																																																																																																																																																																																																																																																																																																																																																																																																																																																																																																																																																																																																																																																																																																																																																																																																																																																																																																																																																																																																																																																																																																																																																																																																																																																																																																																																																																																																																																																																																																																																																																	Close																																																	Tags																					Angola																								Cabo Verde																								Côte d&#039;Ivoire																								Nigeria																								The Secretary of State
- Department Press Briefing – January 18, 2024 HomeDepartment Press Briefing – January 18, 2024				hide		if(window.jQuery) {		jQuery( document ).ready(function() {			if (jQuery(".bc_middle").hasClass("collapse")) {				jQuery(".bc_ellipse").click(function(){					jQuery(".bc_hide").toggleClass("visible");					jQuery(".bc_middle").toggle();					jQuery(".bc_ellipse").toggle();					jQuery(".bc_content").toggleClass("noflex");					jQuery(".block_breadcrumbs_content").toggleClass("noflex");				});				jQuery(".bc_hide").click(function(){					jQuery(".bc_hide").toggleClass("visible");					jQuery(".bc_middle").toggle();					jQuery(".bc_ellipse").toggle();					jQuery(".bc_content").toggleClass("noflex");					jQuery(".block_breadcrumbs_content").toggleClass("noflex");				});			} else {				jQuery(".bc_ellipse").hide();			}		});	}																										Department Press Briefing – January 18, 2024																																																					January 18, 2024																																																								1:19 p.m. ESTMR MILLER: Good afternoon, everyone. On Sunday, Secretary Blinken will depart for his fourth trip to Africa as Secretary of State, traveling to Cabo Verde, Cote d’Ivoire, Nigeria, and Angola. Over the course of the trip, the Secretary will highlight how the United States is strengthening our longstanding engagement with African nations and institutions and delivering on commitments made at the U.S. Africa Leaders Summit to benefit both Americans and Africans.This trip will advance a policy agenda that is responsive to priorities shared with our African partners along three core lines of effort. First, we are accelerating U.S.-Africa partnerships to advance global priorities such as cultivating sustainable and resilient food systems, strengthening health systems, and addressing the challenge of climate change. Second, we are deepening mutually beneficial economic ties between the United States and Africa. And third, we are working together in elevating African leadership and promoting democracy, respect for human rights, and security.These three lines of effort are solidly anchored in the U.S. Strategy Towards Sub-Saharan Africa. As Secretary Blinken said in his August 2022 speech in Pretoria, our partnership is rooted in the recognition that Africa is a major geopolitical force – one that has shaped our past, is shaping our present, and will shape our future. America’s prosperity is tied to Africa’s growth, and African voices are vital to shaping the most consequential global conversations. The Secretary looks forward to continuing that conversation and making progress on all these issues during this upcoming trip.With that, Matt, over to you.QUESTION: Okay. So not to cast any aspersions on the Secretary or his – the importance of Africa to the administration, but this is – this will be the – I mean, he’s spent more time overseas so far this month than he has at home. Is there a reason that he doesn’t want to be here?MR MILLER: (Laughter.) I – as someone who, like the Secretary, has spent a lot of time away from home lately, I think I can safely speak for him and say that he would love to be spending home at his – spending time at home seeing his family, as I know I would, and I’m sure – I think most days my family would love to see me, but there are a number of pressing challenges, and that’s the job.QUESTION: Okay. So in terms of – in terms of this trip, it’s coming – he’s just done this big Middle East trip and he went to Davos, which is slightly less urgent a task, but now Africa. And you have the situation in the Middle East compounding. Ukraine is still an issue. We have a situation with the Houthis in the Red Sea, where there just another – more strikes today. Is he comfortable spending time in Cape Verde, Ivory Coast &#8212;MR MILLER: Yeah.QUESTION: &#8212; Nigeria, and Angola which are important – I’m not saying they’re not – but they are not the most pressing issues.MR MILLER: So, I would say that they are incredibly important – incredibly important countries that require and – that require U.S. engagement. We have challenges on the continent of Africa, but as I said in my opening remarks, we also have a lot of opportunities that the President has made a priority and the Secretary has made a priority. So I think it’s important that we make this trip and important that we engage on all the issues that I mentioned, from promoting democracy to deepening our economic ties.But I will also say that one of the things that you’ve seen the Secretary do during his travels is, that no matter where we are in the world, he still tends to be focused on other challenges. And so you’ve seen in the Middle East – when he’s in the Middle East, he’s often on the phone with leaders in other continents working on challenges in those continents. And when he’s in Europe, he’s been on the phone a lot with people in the Middle East. And I’m sure that will be the case of this trip – that even while we’re in Angola and Nigeria, I would suspect we will be having calls with – that he will be having multiple calls with leaders in other parts of the world.QUESTION: Okay. And then off this topic and before – I’ll let other people go on to Gaza and that situation there, but I just wanted to ask you really quickly about what your read is – what the administration thinks of the situation between Iran and Pakistan right now? And how concerned are you that this could escalate into a potentially – at least on one side and maybe on both sides – a nuclear conflict?MR MILLER: So, we are concerned about escalating tensions in the region. It’s been something, as you know, we’ve spoken about a number of times. It’s something we’ve focused on. We’ve been incredibly concerned about the potential for escalation since October 7th, and that’s why we have engaged in intense diplomatic efforts to try to prevent escalation. So, I will say we noted the comments from the Government of Pakistan about the importance of cooperative relations between Pakistan and its neighbors. We thought those were productive, useful statements. And certainly, there’s no need for escalation, and we would urge restraint on all sides in this case.QUESTION: Thank you.QUESTION: Follow up?MR MILLER: Yeah. Go ahead, Alex.QUESTION: Just so we are clear, in this feud between Iran and Pakistan – was triggered by Iran – who are you standing with? With the terrorist regime of Iran or with the non-NATO ally – major ally Pakistan?MR MILLER: So, I think I made pretty clear yesterday that – what we think about Iran’s attacks, not just the strikes that it has launched in the past three days against three of its neighbors but it’s long history of funding terrorism, of funding instability, and sowing discord in the Middle East. And that’s something that we have seen contribute to the conflict in Gaza. You’ve seen Iran, the principal supporter of Hamas for years. They’re the major funder of Hizballah. They are one of the major funders of the Houthis. So, we’ve seen the consequences of the actions that Iran has taken to add to regional instability, and that’s why we continue to take actions to hold Iran accountable, but also send very clear messages to Iran that we don’t want to see this conflict escalated in any way, shape, or form, which is the message I just sent from this podium.QUESTION: If it does escalate, which again is not after Pakistan, can Pakistan rely on its major ally, the United States?MR MILLER: So, I don&#8217;t want to get into hypotheticals. We don’t believe this should escalate in any way, shape, or form. Pakistan is a major non-NATO ally of the United States. That will remain the case. But we would urge restraint in this case. We do not want to see escalation, and do not think there is any need for escalation.QUESTION: Can you just come back for more on South Caucasus?MR MILLER: Yeah.QUESTION: So, I – just to pick about a little bit, are you – you’re sort of treating the Iran‐Pakistan tensions as part of the spillover from Gaza. Do you see this as connected to that?MR MILLER: No, I don&#8217;t think it’s in any way, shape, or form connected to Gaza. But whenever you see things – see strikes in the region – given the tensions in the region, there is the risk for an increase in conflict, which is something that we’re trying to avoid.QUESTION: Do you assess that Iran’s – the initial strike is – was somehow – somehow is inspired by or related to what’s been happening elsewhere further west?MR MILLER: So, no. It in no way, shape, or form is or should be connected to the conflict in Gaza.QUESTION: I have more on Gaza, but if we’re sticking on this.MR MILLER: You can &#8212;QUESTION: I’ll follow up.MR MILLER: Go ahead.QUESTION: I’ll go to Gaza. Thank you.MR MILLER: Yeah.QUESTION: Thank you, Matt. Israel yesterday – the Israeli military occupied and destroyed Israa University in Gaza. I mean, this is probably number of ten of – all ten universities that they have destroyed. And is it the assessment of this department or this government that this was a legitimate target?MR MILLER: So, I can’t speak to this individual action. I don&#8217;t have independent information to verify that. But I can say that we continue to urge Israel to avoid damage to critical infrastructure – that would, of course, include universities – and to ensure the protection of humanitarian and medical sites. That has been something we have urged from the outset of this conflict. I will give the – make the point that I always make, that it is very difficult – and again, I’m not talking about this particular site, because I don&#8217;t have information about this particular site – but it is always difficult when you see Hamas use those civilian sites to hide its fighters, to launch attacks on Israel. But it doesn’t change the burden that Israel has to comply with international humanitarian law and avoid strikes, avoid military action against humanitarian infrastructure.QUESTION: But there seems to be no evidence that there were any fighters – in fact, any presence of – any kind of military presence in the university itself. But that – I mean, we’ve seen – I mean, you keep saying that you want Israel not to destroy the infrastructure. Yet we have seen almost a total destruction of all infrastructure, including schools, hospitals, roads, cemeteries. They just – they excavated a cemetery for instance and took bodies, whatever. I mean, this is not exactly – tell us in any way that the Government of Israel is really paying heed to what you tell them, in any way, by any measure. They’re not listening to you.MR MILLER: So, we have seen them take some steps to add civilian infrastructure to deconfliction sites. There are other things that we have urged them to do that we want them to do better on. It is an ongoing conversation between our two governments and something that the Secretary spoke directly with the leadership of Israel in his trip last week. But again, there is also this problem that Hamas does continue to hide in and under civilian infrastructure. So, when you see a strike against any one civilian – piece of civilian infrastructure, to assess the validity of that strike you have to know what it is that was there, and we don’t always know that when – or at least I don&#8217;t know that when I’m speaking from here.QUESTION: Yeah, a couple more &#8212;MR MILLER: And I suspect that a lot of the people writing about it don’t know it either. It’s very hard to know the facts on the ground.QUESTION: Okay. The West Bank is basically a situation that’s just getting completely out of control. The Israelis are doing their excursions on a nightly basis. They killed ten yesterday. They keep going into these refugee camps in the West Bank and so on. They have been struck by unmanned aerial vehicle, drones and so on. They have been struck even by fixed-wing a couple times at the beginning of the month. So, I just wonder what are you doing to sort of calm the situation down in the West Bank?MR MILLER: So, I will say that Israel faces very real security challenges and it has the right to defend its people and it has the right to carry out counterterrorism operations. Those need to be carried out in coordination with – or in compliance with international humanitarian law. We do remain deeply concerned about maintaining stability in the West Bank and we continue to urge Israel to take all feasible measures to protect civilian lives in the West Bank, just as we encourage them to do in Gaza. But they do have the right to carry out legitimate counterterrorism operations.QUESTION: In a territory that they have occupied for over 56 years, right? I mean, they go in. They know everything about this area. They occupy it. They go in unprovoked. And you’re saying that they have to defend themselves against &#8212;MR MILLER: So, I – so &#8212;QUESTION: &#8212; a defenseless population.MR MILLER: So unprovoked is a big word, Said. And I would say that they do face security challenges and they do face security threats, including from the West Bank. And they have the right to carry out counterterrorism operations to deal with those threats.QUESTION: Can I &#8212;MR MILLER: Yeah, go ahead.QUESTION: Just on the ongoing diplomatic efforts, the conversation. It’s been 27 days since the leaders of Israel and the U.S. have spoken. Did the Secretary hear any indication while in Israel that the prime minister thought it would be productive to have another conversation soon?MR MILLER: So, we maintain ongoing dialogue with the Government of Israel at the most senior levels. The Secretary obviously engaged not just with the prime minister, but had one-on-one meetings with the defense minister, had one-on-one meetings with Minister Gantz, another member of the Israeli war cabinet, and of course the Secretary – sorry, the President has spoken with Prime Minister Netanyahu on a number of occasions. I’m not going to speak to either the private conversations that Secretary Blinken had with Prime Minister Netanyahu or the tempo of conversations between the President and Prime Minister Netanyahu. But we always have ongoing dialogue at very senior levels, and I will say we have no inability to make our messages clear to the Government of Israel.QUESTION: Sure, but isn’t the tempo of leadership exchanges something that you pay close attention to? You did so with China. So, does that lack of leader-to-leader engagement of late suggest that diplomacy between the U.S. is faltering, or at an impasse, or simply that there’s nothing for the leaders to exchange views about?MR MILLER: I would not read too much into it. The Secretary just finished a week of diplomacy in the Middle East, including several days when we were in Israel and engaged with the highest members of the Israeli Government. He, of course, is not the only official in the United States Government to have traveled to Israel in recent months. You’ve seen officials from the White House, you’ve seen Secretary Austin travel to Israel. And of course, the President himself traveled to Israel and has conducted a number of conversations with the prime minister, and I am sure that they will speak again. But I would not read too much into the tempo of those conversations.QUESTION: Before we leave this topic, can I just – so have you seen Prime Minister Netanyahu’s latest comments &#8212;MR MILLER: I did. I did.QUESTION: &#8212; about – that he’s rejected your guys’ assertion that the only way that Israel is going to achieve long-term security and peace is with the creation of a Palestinian state? This is obviously not new. This is something that he has said for some time and told you all directly last week, even. But I’m just wondering if you have any new – particularly new reaction &#8212;MR MILLER: So &#8212;QUESTION: &#8212; to him being apparently, in this situation, the roadblock? Your ally, your partner – all the Arab states are on board, at least according to what you guys say, with the post-conflict Gaza future planning, but Israel is not. So &#8212;MR MILLER: Let me echo something the Secretary said when he was in the region last week, and that is that Israel faces some very difficult choices in the months ahead. The conflict in Gaza is going to end; it will end. And at the end of that conflict, someone is going to have to rebuild Gaza. Someone is going to have to govern Gaza. Someone is going to have to provide security in Gaza. And one of the things the Secretary was able to achieve in his travels through the region last week are commitments from other countries in the region that they would participate in the reconstruction of Gaza, that they would participate in helping establish Palestinian-led governance of Gaza, but they would only do that if there was a tangible path to the establishment of a Palestinian state.But the question is actually bigger than that, because the question is not just about the short-term future of Gaza, but it is about how you solve this long-term challenge that Israel has, which is how Israel ensures real security for itself and how it ensures that October 7th is never repeated again. And the opportunity that Israel has right now before it is that, for the first time in its history, you see the countries in the region who are ready to step up and further integrate with Israel and provide real security assurances to Israel. And the United States is ready to play its part too, but they all have to have a willing partner on the other side.So, we will continue to reiterate to the leadership of Israel, the Government of Israel, and to the people of Israel that these are the opportunities that they have, these are the challenges that they face, but there is no way to solve their long-term challenges to provide lasting security, and there is no way to solve the short-term challenges of rebuilding Gaza and establishing governance in Gaza, and providing security for Gaza, without the establishment of a Palestinian state.And so, this is clearly going to be a conversation.QUESTION: Okay.MR MILLER: We’ve had direct conversations with him, and now we’re having a public conversation as well.QUESTION: So, you think that – you think that &#8212;MR MILLER: But it’s going to be – it’s going to be a process.QUESTION: You think that Netanyahu is basically squandering an opportunity for real lasting peace for his country?MR MILLER: I don’t want to characterize his remarks, but I will say that there is a historic opportunity that Israel has to deal with challenges that it has faced since its founding, and we hope the country will take that opportunity.QUESTION: All right. And then the – what makes – you said at some point – at the beginning of your answer, you said at some point the war in Gaza is going to come to an end. Why are you so confident of that? I mean, the situation right now appears to be one in which this is going to be never-ending, and the youth who survive in Gaza – Palestinian youth – have been radicalized to the point where – or seem to be, have radicalized to the point where there isn’t going to be an end anytime soon, even with the creation of an independent Palestinian state.MR MILLER: It is – that is such a good question, Matt. I will say we believe that the short-term conflict will come to an end. We’ve had a conversations with the Israeli Government about that, about how they will transfer – how they will transition to lower tempo operations. But they see an end to this conflict, we see an end to this conflict. But you’re right; that is –QUESTION: Well, wait. Do they? Are you convinced that the Israelis do see an end to this conflict?MR MILLER: I am convinced that they do. But to get to your underlying question, that does not solve the long-term challenge. And we think the only way to solve the long-term challenge is to offer a solution that answers the legitimate hopes, dreams, aspirations of the Palestinian people.QUESTION: Okay. And the last one, based on Said’s question about the demolition of the university. I don’t know if you’ve seen the video; it’s pretty widely-available.MR MILLER: I have seen the video.QUESTION: But it’s – it looks – I mean, it looks like a controlled demolition. It looks like what we do here in this country, when we’re taking down an old hotel or a stadium. And you have nothing to say? You have nothing to say about this?MR MILLER: I have &#8212;QUESTION: I mean, to do that kind of an explosion you need to be in there. You have to put the explosives down, and it takes a lot of planning and preparation to do. And if there was a threat from this particular facility, they wouldn’t have been able to do it.MR MILLER: So, I have seen the video. I can tell you that it is something we are raising with the Government of Israel, as we do – often do when we see &#8212;QUESTION: Well, raising is what? Like &#8212;MR MILLER: When we see – to ask questions and find out what the underlying situation is, as we often do when we see reports of this nature. But I’m not able to characterize the actual facts on the ground before hearing that response.QUESTION: Yeah, but you saw the video.MR MILLER: I did see the video. All I – I don’t know – I don’t know what was &#8212;QUESTION: I mean, it looks like people – it looks like a bridge being imploded.MR MILLER: I don’t know what was under that building. I don’t know what was inside, inside that building.QUESTION: Well, yeah, but it doesn’t matter what was under the building because they obviously got in there to put the explosives down to do it in the way that they did.MR MILLER: Again, I’m glad you have factual certainty about it. I just don’t.QUESTION: I don’t. All I have is what I saw on the video, right?MR MILLER: I just don’t, but I can say &#8212;QUESTION: And I think you guys saw it too.MR MILLER: We did see it. And I can say that we have raised it with the Government of Israel.QUESTION: And it’s not troubling to you?MR MILLER: We are always troubled by the – by any degradation of civilian infrastructure in Gaza. But without knowing the actual underlying circumstances, I’m a little hesitant, I think for reasons that should be understandable, to pass definitive judgment on it from this podium.Go ahead.QUESTION: Can I ask you just a follow-up?MR MILLER: Yes, Said. Go ahead.QUESTION: Not on this issue but on something that you said. You said you see an end to this conflict in the short term and so on.MR MILLER: Yes.QUESTION: What does this end look like in your view?MR MILLER: So, we believe that there are military goals that are achievable for the Government of Israel. But to get into the point I was making that ultimately there also needs to be a political resolution, and there needs to be a political path towards statehood for the Palestinian people, period.QUESTION: I understand. But this conflict – I mean, how would it end? How is it going to end?MR MILLER: I did not bring my crystal ball today, Said. So, I’m afraid I’m not going to offer any predictions. But &#8212;QUESTION: Right. But you – you’ve become quite an expert at &#8212;MR MILLER: What’s that?QUESTION: I’m saying you guys have a great deal of expertise that basically can give you sort of a direction on how this is going to end at one point, whether it’s next month or in two months or whatever.MR MILLER: So, I am not going to make predictions about it, but we do believe that this conflict, as all conflicts do, will end at some point and that there needs to be a political path forward for the establishment of a Palestinian state. That is the only way not just to answer the legitimate hopes, dreams, aspirations of Palestinian people, but it is also – and this is critical – the only way to provide lasting security for the Israeli people.I promised you I’d come to you next, and then I’ll go to &#8212;QUESTION: Matt, thank you. I wanted just to follow up on the Israeli prime minister remarks. I know he didn’t say something new, but he said that he informed you that he doesn’t support a Palestinian state. Did he inform you? Because it explains a lot. He didn’t speak with the President since December 23rd.MR MILLER: So, I will speak to our side of the conversation, and I will let him speak to his side of the conversation. But what I will say in speaking to our side is that the points that I just made publicly from this podium about the path forward, the opportunities for Israel, and the challenges that Israel faces are points that Secretary Blinken made very clear in all of his meetings with leaders of the Government of Israel.QUESTION: Okay. You said also during the Secretary’s trip in the region he heard from the leaders that – and they are willing to engage with Israel. Do you characterize Prime Minister Netanyahu as a willing partner to engage for peace in the region?MR MILLER: So, I think certainly we have seen the Government of Israel want to engage with its neighbors. You’ve seen the Government of Israel normalize relationships with a number of its neighbors already, and it wants to pursue further integration, it wants to obviously normalize relations with Saudi Arabia, and we had been making progress on that and believe that progress is still possible to normalize relations between Israel and Saudi Arabia.But the point that we have made to Israel is that to achieve those goals, to provide security assurances for Israel, it’s going to take Israel making some tough choices as well.QUESTION: One more question, on Lebanon. I know the risk has been high for a second front or a bigger front – there is a front going. But given the new statements by the Israeli leaders and also the threats from Hizballah, do you see the risk as higher on the northern border?MR MILLER: So, I don’t want to assess any change in risk, but we have always though the risk was high for escalation on the northern border since October 7th. And that’s why we have made it a focus of our diplomatic efforts since October 7th in making clear to Hizballah that they should not escalate. You saw the President speak on October 7th itself making clear that any enemies of Israel who wanted to capitalize on this situation for their own perceived benefit should not do so – and that’s a message we’ve continued to send loud and clear. And we’ve engaged in diplomatic efforts to make clear that there is a path to de-escalation, and we think that’s a path that ought to interest both Israel and all other parties in the region.QUESTION: Thank you so much.MR MILLER: Go ahead.QUESTION: Yeah, just to come back on to the Prime Minister Netanyahu’s comments. So, your response seems to be, and what you were saying in the region, is you’ve outlined very clearly for the Israelis why there’s – how there’s an opportunity here, right, to have – but what they need – they need to make these tough choices. But clearly, with these comments it’s kind of drawing a line under that and saying the current prime minister is not willing to make those tough choices. So, as well as offering an opportunity and saying here’s a great solution to all your problems, are you also offering some kind of pressure, or what is it that you are actually saying to the Israelis we will do if you don’t accept – or are you just going to hold your hands up and say, well, we gave them an opportunity and they didn’t take it?MR MILLER: I don’t think we need to offer any kind of pressure. The pressure is reality. The pressure is the reality that I just laid out, that without a tangible path to the establishment of a Palestinian state, there are no other partners in the region who are going to step forward and help with the reconstruction of Gaza. There are no other partners in the region who are going to step forward and help establish Palestinian-led governance of Gaza. There are no other partners in the region who are going to step forward and integrate with Israel and make further assurances about Israel’s long-term security. So that’s just the reality. It’s not the United States exerting pressure or not, it’s the reality of the situation that Israel faces, and without making some of these tough choices that we’ve outlined, that will continue to be the reality and there will be no actual solutions to any of those very real short, medium, and long-term problems.QUESTION: So there – if there’s – you’re basically saying that there’s – their current position is only going to – is not going to lead to any solution. There’s no way that this will be solved. Does that mean cutting – do you continue to supply weapons and other support to an ally that is not listening to the warnings that you’re giving?MR MILLER: So, I know that’s a question I get a lot, and I will answer it by saying Israel is a longtime ally of the United States. They’re a longtime friend of the United States, and there are friendships not just at the government-to-government level, but there are longstanding friendships between our two peoples. And one of the things that you can do when you have this kind of longtime alliance and longtime friendship is that you can have these very frank, candid, and sometimes actually quite difficult conversations – both with the leadership of the country and with the country at large, and that’s what you saw the Secretary do in his last trip, where he didn’t just lay all this out to the government. He laid this all out publicly in a speech in Israel that was – in a speech in Israel. And we will continue to make that clear publicly. We will continue to make it clear privately, because we do really believe the choices are stark.QUESTION: But the message is – I guess that you could read from that is that U.S. support for Israel is not at risk no matter what choices they make.MR MILLER: So, we – our support for Israel remains ironclad, but that doesn’t mean that there are no differences between our two countries and that there will not be any differences between our two countries. We have differences with all of our allies. There are things that we don’t necessarily see 100 percent eye to eye on. But again, I think the question here is less about a difference in opinion about a path forward between Israel and the United States. The question is really more about the opportunity that Israel faces and whether they will grab it, because this is not a question of the United States pressuring them to do anything. This is about the United States laying out for them the opportunity that they have, in part because of the work that we did, that Secretary Blinken and that President Biden have done to talk with other countries in the region to make clear that there is a path for further integration. There is a path for real security assurances &#8211; but again, we can’t make those choices for anyone. They have to make them for themselves.Olivia, and then I’ll – I know I have to get to some of the other hands in the room.QUESTION: I was going to ask about the Houthis, so if there’s something else about Gaza specifically.MR MILLER: Yeah, no, go ahead.QUESTION: Well, so a day after the SDGT designation, the Houthis’ attacks in the Red Sea have continued unabated, arguably intensified, targeting U.S. interests. The U.S. is now the sole power conducting strikes on Houthi interests. So where is the international coalition that the U.S. had worked so hard to galvanize in order to deter these Houthi attacks?MR MILLER: So, if you look at the coalitions that we have assembled there, people have a number of different roles. There are more than 40 countries that issued a statement making clear that they condemned the Houthis’ attacks. There is a coalition of more than 20 countries that we assembled for Prosperity Guardian to defend against the Houthis’ attacks. There are all the countries at the United – on the United Nations Security Council who voted to make clear that those attacks are unacceptable. Then there are the – the countries that participated in direct military action, and of course that is a smaller group of countries. That’s always going to be the case when it comes to action of this nature.I will say that we will continue to use all the instruments of military power, and that includes – or, I’m sorry, all the instruments of national power, and that includes not just military power, but it also does include our diplomatic efforts. We think it’s important that other countries of the world have made clear to the Houthis that these attacks are unacceptable and that these attacks must stop. And we will continue to use our sanctions authority to deprive the Houthis of resources and to further our efforts to crack down on people who provide them with finances or provide them with military equipment.But we have been clear that – we have said from the outset that we did not think that the attacks would stop after our first military strike, that we would have to take further action. You have seen us take further action. And we are committed to continuing to do so because the attacks on commercial shipping are just unacceptable. They don’t have anything to do with the conflict in Gaza and they need to stop.QUESTION: All right. I recognize that the statements were made, the resolutions were passed, but I mean, just as an example, you saw the president of France saying that France declined to engage in these more kinetic activities out of fears of escalation. So, is the U.S. risking being, again, sort of the sole power undertaking this more military-focused kind of activity?MR MILLER: I don’t – I would not agree with that characterization only because of the reasons I just outlined, which there are a number of countries who have made clear that these attacks are unacceptable. And we are the ones who, of course, are leading the military response to actually add some teeth to that statement, but we certainly think the diplomatic statements are important as well.Janne, go ahead.QUESTION: Thank you, Matt. The Russian ambassador to South Korea said in an interview with South Korean press that he was ready to improve relations between Russia and South Korea and he wanted a high-level dialogue between South Korea and Russia. How can you explain Russia’s intention to – Russia dual action toward South Korea while engaging in military cooperation with North Korea?MR MILLER: So, I have not seen those specific comments, so I am going to decline to comment on them from here and I’ll take it back and get you an answer.QUESTION: Yesterday they held a &#8212;MR MILLER: Yeah, I just didn’t see the specific comment, so &#8212;QUESTION: Okay. Second one: Do you have anything on the United States and South Korea, Japan, representatives of Korean Peninsula meeting in Seoul?MR MILLER: Let me take it back and get an answer on that as well.QUESTION: Thank you.MR MILLER: Go ahead.QUESTION: Thank you, Matt. Very quick question on Bangladesh. What steps will the United States take in response to the reported – reported sham election in Bangladesh involving the undermining of democracy and imprisonment of thousands opposition members? As you mentioned in your statement, that election was not free and fair.MR MILLER: So, we do remain concerned by the arrest of thousands of political opposition members and by the reports of irregularities on election day. We share the view with other observers that these elections were not free and fair. We regret that not all parties participated, and we condemn the violence that took place during elections and in the months leading up to it. We are now encouraging the Government of Bangladesh to credibly and transparently investigate the reports of violence, to hold perpetrators accountable, and we all urge all parties to reject political violence.Go ahead.QUESTION: Thank you, Matt. Matt, in light of an NBC News report yesterday that describes President Biden and Saudi Prince Salman’s frustrations with Prime Minister Netanyahu refuses to accept a Palestinian state as a required path to – pathway to peace, what is your response to Prime Minister Netanyahu and evangelical Christians who oppose the establishment of a Palestinian state to divide Israel? And I have a follow-up.MR MILLER: I think this is the point in the press conference where I just say “ibid.” Is that how you pronounce it, the term you see in &#8212;QUESTION: “Ibid.”MR MILLER: “Ibid.” Is that how – so I have it wrong. “Ibid.” I think I’ve spoken to that at some length, probably at too much length, so I’ll refer you to my earlier comments.QUESTION: Okay. Then follow-up: Do you expect Iran to cease their hostilities against Israel if Israel agreed to a Palestinian state given that Iran’s ayatollah has called for the total annihilation of Israel?MR MILLER: So, one of the things that the Secretary made clear when we were in the region is actually the answer to Iran’s aggression against Israel is this further integration with other partners in the region. Iran clearly is not interested in peace with Israel, but other countries are, and there are other countries that are willing to step up and normalize their relationships with Israel, to integrate Israel further into the region, and to have real lasting security agreements with Israel. And what that would do is it would further isolate Iran, and isolate the groups that Iran funds – the Houthis, Hizballah, Hamas – and at least take some steps to depriving those groups of the political oxygen that they use to recruit new members.So, it’s precisely because of the long-term threat that Iran poses to Israel’s security and to the security of the entire region that we think the establishment of a Palestinian state is so important.QUESTION: About Iran also, since the head of the snake is Iran that is fueling unrest in the Middle East, what do you see the U.S. and its allies can do to stop their aggression?MR MILLER: So, as I said – as I’ve said a number of times from this podium, we will continue to take actions to deter Iran’s hostile activities. We will continue to take actions to hold Iran accountable for its activities. We’ve imposed more than 400 sanctions on Iran since the outset of this administration, and we will continue to take whatever actions are appropriate.Go ahead.QUESTION: Thank you, Matt. A question on Syria. NGO Forum warning on the escalation of hostilities between the Türkiye and SDF: “From January 13-16, 2024, 40 verified strikes were conducted across northeast Syria. At least six civilians  – been injured,  at least 26 critical infrastructure sites are either severely damaged or out of service.” That is what they mentioned in the report they published yesterday. I understand that Türkiye is your NATO Ally, and SDF is your local partner – they are fighting against ISIS with you. So how does the United States is trying to make these two parties to get together and de-escalate the situation?MR MILLER: So let me take that back and get you a complete answer.QUESTION: And one more question.MR MILLER: Yeah, go ahead.QUESTION: Yeah. Iraqi prime minister says that the U.S.-led military coalition in Iraq is no longer needed. I understand that you are in Iraq on the Iraqi invitation, but now the Iraqi Government repeatedly says that they don’t need the U.S.-led coalition to fight against ISIS. What’s your assessment? Do you think that you still need to be there to face the ISIS? How do you see that?MR MILLER: So, I will say that we are there at the invitation of the Government of Iraq. There is a process that we go through to engage in dialogue with the Government of Iraq, and we will continue to engage in that process.QUESTION: Thank you.QUESTION: Well, let’s remember that you got there first without the invitation of the Government of Iraq &#8212;MR MILLER: I am &#8212;QUESTION: &#8212; and then you stayed and through repeated administrations while the Iraqi parliament &#8212;MR MILLER: I – I am &#8212;QUESTION: &#8212; after the invasion and the return to their&#8211;MR MILLER: I am well aware.QUESTION: &#8212; quote/unquote “sovereignty,” they have asked numerous times for U.S. troops to leave and you guys have basically given them the finger &#8212;MR MILLER: I am – I &#8212;QUESTION: &#8212; and said, “No, we’re not going anywhere.” And that was not just the Obama administration or the Bush administration, but also the Trump administration and now this administration.MR MILLER: I am &#8212;QUESTION: But is there a process ongoing right now, a discussion with the Iraqis, about the eventual withdrawal?MR MILLER: I am not going to get into the substance of our conversation, but we have an ongoing process with the Government of Iraq to talk about exactly these issues – the status of our forces in Iraq – and we are there at the Government of Iraq’s invitation. And beyond that, I don’t want to discuss our private diplomatic conversations.QUESTION: But how many times does the invitation have to be, like, rescinded before you actually – before you actually agree to it?MR MILLER: (Laughter.) So, I don’t think I’m going to accept the premise of the question, but I will say that we engage in ongoing and private diplomatic conversations about all of these issues.QUESTION: Yeah, telling them that’s very nice, but no thank you, we’re staying.MR MILLER: Go ahead.QUESTION: Thank you, sir. Sir, a member of the media in Pakistan has reported that Pakistani authorities consulted with the U.S. before the airstrikes in Iran. Is it true?MR MILLER: I don’t – I do not have any private conversations to read out.QUESTION: And sir, India’s role in the assassination attempt on Sikh activist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun was highlighted at yesterday’s congressional hearing on transnational repression. Sir, is there any update from India about their internal investigation on that assassination attempt?MR MILLER: So, I will say that there is – that is a subject of an ongoing Department of Justice investigation and – or I should say ongoing legal matter, law enforcement matter, and because of that, I’m not going to – I’m going to decline to comment on it.QUESTION: So, when you say that the election results in Bangladesh were not credible, free, or fair, does this imply that the U.S. will not recognize Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s fourth straight term?MR MILLER: No, no.Go ahead.QUESTION: Thank you. Thank you. Lots of stuff has been heard about Iran and their activities. Is the U.S. at all happy that Pakistan took the action to at least teach them? Because after a long time, somebody has taken step to go inside Iran or – you know?MR MILLER: So, I did speak to this earlier, and what I said was that we are concerned about escalating tensions in the region, and we will continue to urge all parties to show restraint.QUESTION: Okay. One more. Elections in Pakistan are happening, and you are hoping that the escalation will not grow and the elections are such that Imran Khan is out, obviously. His foreign minister was arrested. His interior minister was arrested. Many of his – his party ticket has been taken from him. Are you going to just comment the same thing you did to my colleague about Bangladesh elections – after the election, you are just going to regret it – or are you going to say that the elections are not being held fair?MR MILLER: So, I’m going to say what we say about countries all over the world, which is that we want the elections in Pakistan, as we do all over the world, to be free and fair and held in a manner that allows the Pakistani people to express their will. And we will align our policies to achieve that objective.QUESTION: Just last one.MR MILLER: Yeah.QUESTION: Prime Minister Modi is going to inaugurate the Babri Mosque in a couple of days. It’s the same site where more than 2,000 people have been killed. Does it suit the prime minister to go to a place where it’s already from decades and – it’s an issue that has created a lot of hate between Hindus and Muslims. And Prime Minister Modi is doing this special ritual before going and he’s going to be there for the opening of a Hindu temple. Does that leadership – good leadership sign?MR MILLER: I just don’t have any comment on that.Alex, go ahead.QUESTION: Thank you. Two topics. On Nagorno-Karabakh first, I was hoping you could update us on the latest efforts about the peace process between Azerbaijan and Armenia. Last week, Special Advisor Bono was in the region to carry Karabakh talks, but he avoided Baku. Any reason why? And, also, any sense of what he heard in Armenia? Any message he conveyed?MR MILLER: So, I’m not going to get into the exact substance of those – those meetings other than to say that we welcome the work towards peace between Armenia and Azerbaijan. We support the sovereignty and territorial integrity of both countries. We hope they will sign a durable peace treaty that recognizes such sovereignty and territorial integrity, the sooner the better. The parties have made significant progress over the past year, and we encourage them to maintain momentum building on past negotiations and conclude an agreement.QUESTION: Thank you. And second topic: Today marks three months since the detention of Radio Free Europe reporter Alsu Kurmasheva in Russia. Do you have any message to Alsu – to her family, to her two little daughters who are also American citizens, to her colleagues at RFE/RL who are (inaudible) American citizens and are watching and wondering, three months in, the State Department still refuses to recognize her detention as wrongful?MR MILLER: So, I would say that it is a case that we continue to focus an enormous amount of attention on. It’s something we continue to look into. And as I have said a number of times, that just because we have not made a wrongful detention determination at any point does not indicate anything about the work that we are doing or about what our future posture may be. We are constantly gathering information in all of these cases, assessing facts, assessing law in helping us guide – in helping guide us to what ultimately will be the right determination.QUESTION: I understand that, but when push comes to shove, I mean, you offer something to Russians about American citizens’ detention – detained in Russia. You did not include Alsu. Why is that?MR MILLER: I just don’t have anything further to add on it beyond what I just said.With that, I’ll wrap from there unless Matt – unless Matt has a &#8212;QUESTION: Well, what I – as I did yesterday &#8212;MR MILLER: &#8212; Lagniappe, for the end.QUESTION: &#8212; I have one last one on Guatemala.MR MILLER: Yeah.QUESTION: So, after I asked you the last question of yesterday’s briefing about Guatemala and the criticism or complaints from some people about your policy towards there – well, not just after, it was about four hours after &#8212;MR MILLER: It was a few hours later.QUESTION: &#8212; as I was walking out the door, not – with no heads-up that you guys were going to do this, you guys &#8212;MR MILLER: Give me a heads-up what time you’re leaving today, and I’ll try to make sure we make any news before that so as not to disrupt your commute.QUESTION: Well, I want to leave right now. (Laughter.) I won’t leave right now, but anyway, so you guys put the former president – former by three days president &#8212;MR MILLER: Yeah.QUESTION: &#8212; on – you put a travel ban on him, essentially.MR MILLER: Yeah.QUESTION: And so, this is a guy who, while he was president, had annoyed the U.S., this administration, with his – with his policies, particularly on migration and other things. But what I’m wondering about is the timing of this, because these designations take some time to do. So, is it fair to say that this administration was considering doing this while he was still in office, but you held off until he was out of his office for whatever reason?MR MILLER: I will answer that by saying whenever we take any sanctions action, we look at that action and the timing of it and try to achieve both the maximum impact and we try to minimize any downside risk. And so, in making the determination about when to impose this sanction – obviously, as we said in the statement – we had evidence of his involvement in significant corruption. We did not want to take any action that might have hurt our ability to achieve our goal in this – our goal in Guatemala, which was not just a free and fair election, but the actual ability of the duly-elected president to take office.QUESTION: Okay. But a decision like this isn’t made – isn’t – the process of this isn’t started and then finished within three days.MR MILLER: Correct.QUESTION: And clearly you had – if you say you have this evidence against him for massive corruption or I don’t know what the adjective was in front of “corruption,” but if you had &#8212;MR MILLER: Significant.QUESTION: &#8212; “significant,” all right – evidence of significant corruption, why didn’t you act against him while he was still president?MR MILLER: So, I don’t want to get into the exact timeline, but the point I was making here is we – in looking at how to maximize the impact of this, did not want to take any action that would impede what we were trying to achieve, which was a free and fair election.QUESTION: Well, I’m sorry. I guess I just don’t understand.MR MILLER: A free and fair election, and remember what – that there was significant risk of the duly-elected president not being able to take office, and we had to make an assessment whether any action &#8212;QUESTION: So &#8212;MR MILLER: &#8212; we were doing would add to that risk?QUESTION: Well, so you say – you keep saying “maximize,” that you wanted to maximize. In fact, you wanted to minimize &#8212;MR MILLER: And minimize – no, no, did you just say – no, no, minimize the risk also. I mean, the risk that I’m just outlining &#8212;QUESTION: Well, okay, so what is &#8212;MR MILLER: &#8212; that we take an &#8212;QUESTION: &#8212; maximizing the impact? What does that mean? What – so how did this announcement coming three days after the guy left office &#8212;MR MILLER: So, what I said was – so &#8212;QUESTION: &#8212; how did that maximize the impact?MR MILLER: What I said is, as a general statement, we’re trying to do two things: maximize impact, minimize risk.QUESTION: Yeah.MR MILLER: And I think what you just heard me outline is a risk that we were aware of that we were trying to avoid &#8212;QUESTION: Right.MR MILLER: &#8212; that was any action that we take that might in any way impact the president-elect’s ability to take office, which, as you know, was – there was a great deal &#8212;QUESTION: It did not go without hitch.MR MILLER: It didn’t – exactly my point. It did not go without hitch, and we did not want to do anything that might make it more difficult.QUESTION: So, you think that – you think that holding off on this was part of the reason or part of what allowed him to eventually take – the new president to take the oath?MR MILLER: I think that establishes a causal link that I was not &#8212;QUESTION: Oh.MR MILLER: &#8212; prepared to make, but the point I was making &#8212;QUESTION: Okay.MR MILLER: &#8212; is we did not want to add to risk in any way.QUESTION: Okay. But then when you talk about maximizing the impact, what – wouldn’t it – wouldn’t the impact be maximum or most – I don’t know what the Latin is.MR MILLER: It’s about &#8212;QUESTION: A “maximus impactus.”MR MILLER: My &#8212;QUESTION: If you had done it while he was still &#8212;MR MILLER: Not &#8212;QUESTION: &#8212; a head of state.MR MILLER: Not if we raised the risk of the elected president – the duly-elected president not taking office. No, that would not have maximized the impact.QUESTION: Okay. Thank you.MR MILLER: All right, we’ll end there. Thanks, everyone.(The briefing was concluded at 2:07 p.m.)# # #						Tags																					Angola																								Armenia																								Azerbaijan																								Bangladesh																								Cabo Verde																								Côte d&#039;Ivoire																								Guatemala																								India																								Iran																								Iraq																								Israel																								Lebanon																								Nigeria																								Office of the Spokesperson																								Pakistan																								Palestinian Territories																								Russia
- Assistant Secretary for African Affairs Molly Phee Previewing the Secretary’s Trip to Cabo Verde, Cote d’Ivoire, Nigeria, and Angola Office of the SpokespersonVia TeleconferenceMR TEK:  Thank you and good morning, everyone.  Welcome to today’s background call on Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s travel to Cabo Verde, Cote d’Ivoire, Nigeria, and Angola.  This call will be on the record and is embargoed until its conclusion.Joining on this – joining us this morning is Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs Molly Phee.  She’ll provide some brief opening remarks, and then we’ll turn it over to your questions.  And so, with that, let’s turn it over to Assistant Secretary Phee to start us off.ASSISTANT SECRETARY PHEE:  Thanks, Nathan.  And good morning, everybody.  Thanks for spending some time with us today.  So, we’re really excited about this trip.  It’s in part a follow-up to the very successful U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit that we held in December 2022.  The Secretary wants to go to the continent and demonstrate and assess the follow-up that the United States has undertaken to implement the commitments and topics we discussed during the summit.So, we’ll be looking at issues like our economic partnership, how are we promoting the development of commercial ties.  We’ll be looking at our longstanding health partnership.  We’re looking at areas that really excite the Secretary particularly in food security.  We’ll be, of course, sort of furbishing our diplomatic constant engagement on so many issues, not only on the continent but in the global conversation.  So, there’s a lot to do to show where we are, what we’ve done, and where we’re going.We think this trip will hopefully be very positive.  A lot of times the news out of Africa is negative.  I think it can highlight the great capacity of the African people, particularly the youth.  It can show really forward-looking types of engagements – for example, our partnership with Angola in outer space.  And I think it will demonstrate the advances that Africans have made that will contribute to the continued progress on the continent.We can never get away, though, from peace and security issues.  So, when we’re in Cote d’Ivoire, we’ll talk about the situation in the Sahel and coastal West Africa.  As many of you know, Nigeria is dealing with a lot of internal security challenges.  And Angola has played a really important role in trying to address and reduce the tensions in the eastern Congo.  So those will also be topics I expect we’ll discuss.So, he’s really excited; we’re really excited; it should be really fun.  In Cote d’Ivoire, they’re hosting now the Africa Cup of Nations.  So, the whole continent is focused on that.  There are about 24 nations playing soccer – or football, as they call it – in Cote d’Ivoire, so there’s a lot of energy, so I think it will be a really fun stop.So over to you, to Nathan, for questions.MR TEK:  Great.  Thank you so much.  AT&amp;T moderator, would you just mind please repeating the instructions for joining the question queue?OPERATOR:  Sure.  To place yourself in the queue, please press 1 then 0, at this time.MR TEK:  Great.  And can we please go to the line of Will Mauldin from The Wall Street Journal?OPERATOR:  Mr. Mauldin, your line is open.QUESTION:  Thank you so much for doing this.  I wanted to follow up on the security situation, if I may.  I remember when the Secretary was last in this part of Africa, I believe visiting Niger and President Bazoum.  It was not far before the coup when he was ousted.  So, I’m wondering if preventing coups or strengthening any of the leaders in this region is going to be a part of the agenda.  And also, wanted to get a general security situation check-up on is the U.S. – given all the challenges in the Sahel region overall, is the U.S. focusing a bit more on the west coast and those countries as kind of a bulwark at a time when Wagner and militants and other security forces are active in the region?  Thanks.ASSISTANT SECRETARY PHEE:  Sure.  Well, we have long been concerned about coastal West Africa as well as Nigeria, because if the terrorist threat in the Sahel were to disrupt life in those countries, it would be really problematic for a huge portion of Africa.  So we – you may be familiar with the Global Fragility Act, which was adopted a few years ago and is designed to draw on the lessons we’ve learned since 9/11, which are, in short, that we’re really good at security assistance and we’re really good at going after terrorists, but if you neglect governance, economic development, factors like climate change, you can’t really get at a durable solution.So, we’re already invested in a joint project in five coastal states in West Africa, coastal West Africa – those include Cote d’Ivoire, Ghana, Guinea-Conakry, Benin, and Togo.  So that, I imagine, will certainly be a topic of discussion when we see the Ivorians.  And of course, we’ve had a longstanding security partnership with Nigeria, which has been battered, as you know, by ISIS-WA, by Boko Haram, and by internal, what they call bandits.So, definitely helping make sure that these countries are sort of moving out on all fronts to strengthen their societies, to prevent sort of the expansion of the terrorist threat we see in the Sahel.  That will be a part of the discussion.  And that includes doing things the way that we’ve learned to do them, right – to emphasize the security of civilians when you’re undertaking military operations and to promote human rights and community development, particularly in marginalized populations.MR TEK:  Thanks so much.  Can we please go the line of Shaun Tandon from the AFP?QUESTION:  Hey there.  Thanks, Molly.  Can I follow up a little bit on Will’s question?  When you ask – when you talk about Niger, is there any hope for it?  I mean, do you think that’s going to brought up in the discussions, particularly in Cote d’Ivoire?  The coup-imposed – the junta-imposed government, they had a delegation in Moscow this week – how concerned are you about that?And then if I could also ask specifically about DRC.  The meeting is in Angola, and of the course the Secretary just met Kagame in Davos.  How optimistic are you now in DRC and the east?  Do you think that there could be some lasting – more stability there?  Thanks.ASSISTANT SECRETARY PHEE:  Sure.  Well, my job title calls for me to be optimistic.  So, we’re always trying to drive towards better outcomes.  In Niger, I think there’s a clear choice for the junta.  And I made that case when I was there in early December, following what I think was a very successful ECOWAS summit meeting on how to reset relations between ECOWAS and Niger.  We have a proven track record of helping them and their partners in the region get after the terrorist threat.  And we also have – happen to have a very strong economic record with important Millennium Challenge Corporation accounts that have been contributing meaningfully to the development of Niger.And there was a lot of discussion about achieving a timeline, a credible, swift timeline for elections.  The Nigeriens have their own history of rather swiftly handing power back to civilians.  And of course, the release of President Bazoum – and you saw earlier this month, the junta released his son, who had been unjustly detained.So we don’t have any objection with countries diversifying partnerships.  You heard the Secretary talk about that.  Obviously, if they chose to have a partnership with countries like Russia, that would be very complicated.  I think if they just look west to Mali and see the increase in civilian casualties and the increase in security attacks since the junta government in Mali invited in the Wagner Group, and kicked out the French – that isn’t a model that I would want to follow or I think most people would want to follow, if you were governing a country.So, I had good discussions in December.  Let’s see where things end up.  I think, again, we have a demonstrated track record there that they’re well aware of.  And we hope they make the right decision.And then you asked me about Angola and Angola’s role in the eastern DRC.  So, I think you all will recall that in November, shortly before Thanksgiving, I and Judd Devermont traveled with Avril Haines and her top-notch advisor Chris Ringenbach to both Kinshasa and Kigali because we were concerned about the spike in tensions between the Rwandans and the Congolese, as well as the role of neighboring countries.  We were able to institute a process of weekly check-ins that we undertook through the end of calendar year 2023.One of our goals was to make sure that the withdrawal of the East African Community Regional troop presence was not overly disruptive, and to ensure that the DRC was able to hold its elections at the end of December with minimal disruption.  Those elections were big and messy as you saw, but there was no major violence, which we had been concerned about.  So, we would like to see and support the regional processes that have been underway for about two years now, a little bit over two years.  One is called the Luanda Process, which is led by the Angolans, and that’s something the Secretary will want to talk to the president and the foreign minister about.  And the separate track is the Nairobi Process.So, this is a 30-year war.  It’s very difficult, but the parties have been very responsive to our engagement.  They’re very engaged with their neighbors in Southern Africa and the South African development cooperation region as well as, as I mentioned, in the EAC.  So we’re going to hopefully help consolidate some of the intense discussions we’ve had over the past six weeks or so, and see if we can help the Africans set things on the right track.MR TEK:  Thank you.  Can we please go the line of Daphne Psaledakis from Reuters?QUESTION:  Hi.  Thank you so much for doing this.  I just wanted to follow up a little bit on Shaun’s question on Niger.  Could you give a sense of how much this will be a focus of Secretary Blinken’s conversations on the trip?  And – or sorry – on the trip and what his message will be when he’s speaking to these countries?  Thanks.ASSISTANT SECRETARY PHEE:  Sure.  So, Daphne, you guys are bumming me out because you’re not talking about any of the really fun and positive, forward-looking things we’ll be doing.  So, there’s a lot of that in Cote d’Ivoire, but – yeah, so of course the Ivorians are quite nervous given their border with Burkina Faso, and there’s a lot of terrorist activity in the tri-border area between Burkina, Niger, and Mali, which we have been very helpful in addressing.  So, I’m certain it will be a topic of conversation, but we also want to encourage the positive steps the president has taken to expand and deepen democratization in Cote d’Ivoire and how they’re using their resources we’ve provided them under the GFA.And just to note, you guys, we’ve named it this horrible, clunky name of strategy to promote stability and prevent conflict – no, I said it backwards – to – Strategy to Prevent Conflict and Promote Stability, because no one likes to be described as a fragile state.  So, I do anticipate that will be a topic of discussion – but one of many.  I want to also mention that the African Development Bank is in Cote d’Ivoire, so we’re excited to go talk to them where we have major investments, and I think we’ll focus on food security.Those of you who have heard the Secretary talk about it, you know that’s a real passion project of his, drawing on the expertise of the agronomist Dr. Cary Fowler who works here at the department.  I hope we might be able to get him to a football pitch – the soccer stadium.  And I think Cote d’Ivoire has also been a really good partner to us in international fora, so he’s looking forward to discussing all those types of things.Nathan, is there a delay or did I lose you?OPERATOR:  Hi, I’m getting – this is AT&amp;T.  I am getting notices that people are losing connection.  We have had reports of network issues today, so that may be an issue.  I can try going to the next person in the queue if you like.ASSISTANT SECRETARY PHEE:  That’s fine with me.OPERATOR:  All right.  We’ll go to the line of Nick Turse with The Intercept.QUESTION:  Thanks for taking the time to talk to me, Secretary Phee.  Last month, the Nigerian military bombed a religious celebration that killed 85 civilians, and it’s the latest in a series of Nigerian airstrikes that have killed civilians, including a 2017 attack on a displaced persons camp that killed 160 people.  Is Secretary Blinken going to raise the issue of these attacks with the Nigerian authorities?  Will he demand accountability and transparency?  And will the U.S. take any other measures to halt these repeated attacks?ASSISTANT SECRETARY PHEE:  So, if you’re referring to the attack in – I wouldn’t call it an attack.  The Nigerians have admitted it was an operational error that tragically killed people in Kaduna State.  I think the Secretary will definitely talk about that with the president.  The president and the leadership of Nigeria went to Kaduna State.  They acted with transparency, immediately acknowledged the horrific accident.  They set up a reparation process and a transparent investigation.  So, they have, I think, responded to that tragedy in a constructive way that will contribute to rebuilding confidence of the Nigerian people and the security services.And these issues of how to protect civilians when doing complex operations in a fraught security environment, which Nigeria is dealing with, the importance of promoting and protecting human rights, including religious freedom, and, again, sort of the best practices of accountability and transparency, are part of our ongoing dialogue with the government and with the security services.  We host – we are hosting this week a Nigerian delegation led by the national security adviser, and we hosted about four hours of discussions here at the State Department yesterday and that was a running theme throughout the day.  So, I’m certain the Secretary will talk about it when he sees the president and the foreign minister.QUESTION:  Thank you.STAFF:  AT&amp;T, can we go to – Mr. Tek is coming back onto the line, but I believe we have a – one of our African outlets online.  I just got kicked out of conference monitor.  Can you call on them, please?OPERATOR:  I’m sorry.  Which individual in particular, or I can go to the next in queue?  I’m not understanding the person you’re wanting me to go to.STAFF:  Sorry, let’s go to the Washington Post, I believe, is in the queue.OPERATOR:  I do not show them in queue on my end.STAFF:  All right.  Let’s go to the next person then.OPERATOR:  Okay.  We’ll go to Keni Osukoya from Africa Bazaar Magazine.QUESTION:  Hello.  Can you hear me?  Hello.ASSISTANT SECRETARY PHEE:  Hello.  Hi.QUESTION:  Hi, hi, yeah, thank you.  Thank you for taking my questions.  So, I wanted to – I know this trip seemed sudden, and I’m wondering why is the Secretary traveling to these countries or East Africa (inaudible) given that President Biden was – said he will travel to Africa last year.  That was the promise he made during the U.S.-African Leaders Summit.  And now we didn’t hear anything as to the reason why he didn’t travel last year.  So, if you can talk about that aspect of it.And I also wanted to – I know you mentioned South Africa briefly – an issue that is ongoing right now with the South Africa and the Israel-Gaza deal.  And I’m wondering if Secretary Blinken, during his meeting with the – with Nigeria and other African leader, whether that’s something that he will also discuss with them on that issue.ASSISTANT SECRETARY PHEE:  So, thanks for your questions.  The line is pretty bad, but I think I heard you characterize this trip as sudden, and I would not characterize it that way at all.  If you look at the Secretary’s track record, he’s been deeply engaged in Africa, very interested in working with our African partners.  And this will be his fourth trip to the continent.  This follows last year, where we had 17 Cabinet-level officials visit the continent as a follow-up to the Africa Leaders Summit.  So, there’s nothing new here in American interest in Africa or Secretary Blinken’s interest in Africa.And with regard to the President, I don’t, of course, speak for the White House, but I know he remains serious about his desire to travel to Africa.  And again, while I don’t have anything to announce on that at this time, I think if you look across his administration and the different types of efforts, activities, exchanges that have been undertaken over the past year or so, you’ll see demonstrable commitment by the United States to Africa.And I certainly expect the Secretary to brief government leaders he needs who might be interested in his intense efforts to resolve the crisis between Israel and Hamas.  Thanks.QUESTION:  And if I can just &#8212;MR TEK:  Thank you.  We just – I’m sorry, we – hi, this is Nathan.  I’m back on the line again, apologies.  I had technical issues.  We unfortunately don’t have time for follow-up questions.  So Rich, if you don’t mind, if we could please go to Cindy Saine from Voice of America.QUESTION:  Yes.  Thank you so much for doing this.  I was wondering if you could talk about the visit to Cabo Verde and the main issues there.  Thank you.ASSISTANT SECRETARY PHEE:  Oh, sure.  So, we’re so excited to go to Cabo Verde.  It’s like a literal metaphor, if that makes sense.  We have had two Millennium Challenge Compacts that have contributed to Cabo Verde’s development, including the port in Praia.  And in fact, they’ve just been deemed eligible for discussions for a third regional compact.And so we believe our engagement with Cabo Verde demonstrates the positive impact of U.S. investment and infrastructure in Africa, which is so important to Africans.  And it’s literally the port, if you will, on Africa’s doorstep.  Cape Verde is also – Cabo Verde is also a terrific democracy.  It’s a good model for the region, and it’s an important partner in our effort to sort of accelerate engagement with Atlantic coastline partners on all sorts of issues in terms of the environment, maritime security, and whatnot.  So, we’re really looking forward to having the opportunity to stop and have a good discussion there.MR TEK:  Thanks.  Can we go to Jennifer Hansler from CNN?QUESTION:  Hi.  Thanks for doing the call.  I was wondering whether you could discuss how much competing with China will come up on this trip, how much you are looking to counter China’s influence in the continent particularly.  Wang Yi just departed Côte d&#8217;Ivoire, I believe.  They obviously have a strong foothold in a lot of these countries.  Thanks.ASSISTANT SECRETARY PHEE:  So, Jennifer, I’m sure you’ve heard the Secretary talk about this before.  It’s you guys, frankly, who frame this as a U.S.-China soccer match.  We don’t.  We – if China didn’t exist, we would be fully engaged in Africa.  Africa is important for its own sake and it’s important for American interests.  And so, we pursue a lot of the types of activities I discussed at the top, including these infrastructure projects.  That’s what we’ll highlight in Angola – the Lobito project, which is the first really substantial investment we’ve done.  MCC projects, for example, as I just described in Cabo Verde, but in Angola with the Lobito project that stretches through DRC to Zambia.  You see a regional effort that involves DFC, ExIM and other private sector funding.So, we want to highlight our response to African concerns.  In Nigeria, we hope to look at a pharmaceutical company where we’ve helped support Africans develop their own manufacturing capabilities.  When we – when I took this job in 2021 in the middle of the pandemic, there wasn’t a single vaccine manufacturing facility on the continent.  Now there are four.  The factory in Nigeria produces medicines such as antimalarials.So, we want to talk to Nigerians and others about how they’re part of the global conversation on setting norms, for example, for AI, for a new African seat on the Security Council, how we undertake Security Council reform together.  You’ve seen we’ve successfully promoted Africa to be a member of the G20.So, there’s a lot to discuss, a lot of work we do together on the continent and globally, and that’s going to be the focus of the trip.MR TEK:  Thanks so much.  Can we please go to Barbara Usher from BBC?QUESTION:  Hi, thanks.  I was actually going to ask about DRC, which Shaun already did basically, how you would be planning to build on the meetings you’ve already had to get that – those ceasefires for the election and how you might be able to consolidate that.  But it sounds like you’re mostly going to be talking about the Lobito project, correct me if I’m wrong.  And since you mentioned the Africa Cup (inaudible) &#8212;ASSISTANT SECRETARY PHEE:  Yes, (inaudible) Barbara.  Barbara, you can do more than one thing on a trip.QUESTION:  (Laughter.)  Since you mentioned the Africa Cup, could you let us know if there’s already a match that Mr. Blinken is eyeing?ASSISTANT SECRETARY PHEE:  Yeah.  I believe the day we’re there it is Côte d&#8217;Ivoire against Equatorial Guinea, but they’re still finalizing the trip details.  So, I wouldn’t rush to print or to air with that, because they’re still – they haven’t nailed down all the travel details.  But yeah – but Barbara, just to make clear, seriously, I fully expect we’ll have a very important conversation with the foreign minister and the president about their very effective leadership in managing the tensions in eastern DRC and how – how we can complement what we have invested in and what they’ve invested in so that they can carry it forward.MR TEK:  Thanks so much.  That does unfortunately conclude our time this morning for this call.  Thank you so much to our speaker, Assistant Secretary for African Affairs Molly Phee.  That does conclude the call.  The embargo is now lifted.  Thank you all for joining us.  Have a great day.
- Secretary Blinken’s Travel to Cabo Verde, Cote d’Ivoire, Nigeria, and Angola Matthew Miller, Department SpokespersonSecretary Antony J. Blinken will travel to Cabo Verde, Cote d’Ivoire, Nigeria, and Angola January 21-26, 2024.Throughout the trip, the Secretary will highlight how the United States has accelerated the U.S.-Africa partnership since the U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit, including in areas such as climate, food, and health security.  He will also emphasize our future-focused economic partnership, and how the United States is investing in infrastructure in Africa to boost two-way trade, create jobs at home and on the continent, and help Africa compete in the global marketplace.Additionally, the Secretary will advance security partnerships based on shared values such as respect for human rights, promotion of democracy, and expansion of the rule of law.  He will reaffirm U.S. commitment to our coastal West African partners through the Strategy to Prevent Conflict and Promote Stability, U.S. partnership with the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) to address regional challenges, and U.S. efforts to support African leadership in de-escalating tensions and adopting diplomatic solutions to the conflict in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo.The United States reaffirms its sustained commitment to high-level U.S. engagement with Africa.
- The United States Convenes Country Representatives and Other Stakeholders to Promote Inclusive and Rights-Respecting Digital Policy Office of the SpokespersonOn September 20, the United States, as the 2023 Chair of the Freedom Online Coalition (FOC), convened Ministers from the Coalition’s member states, key Group of 77 (G77) partners on technology policy, and other relevant stakeholders for a high-level event on the margins of the 78th Session of the United Nations General Assembly.  The FOC is an intergovernmental coalition committed to promoting and protecting human rights online.The event was co-hosted by U.S. Under Secretary for Civilian Security, Democracy, and Human Rights Uzra Zeya and Ambassador-at-Large for Cyberspace and Digital Policy Nathaniel Fick.  Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken provided keynote remarks highlighting the priorities of the United States and partners on rights-respecting and inclusive approaches to digital technologies in order to achieve the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals and emphasizing the importance of global coordination on these issues.  Secretary Blinken announced the United States’ commitment under its FOC Chairship to advance the development of a governmental pledge relating to the responsible use and procurement of artificial intelligence systems. Foreign Minister Hanke Bruins Slot of the Netherlands also provided remarks and announced that the Netherlands will take over the chairship of the FOC in 2024.The moderated roundtable discussion featured interventions from Cabo Verde, Czechia, Denmark, the Gambia, India, The Maldives, and the United Kingdom in addition to the International Telecommunications Union’s Secretary General and representatives of the FOC’s independent multistakeholder Advisory Network, Wikimedia Foundation, the Association for Progressive Communication, Microsoft, and Google.  Panelists discussed key challenges and opportunities relating to advancing connectivity, promoting access and inclusion, and using technology as an enabler of rights.  The convening reaffirmed the United States’ commitment to promote inclusive and rights-respecting digital policy together with Coalition members, and to explore opportunities to collaborate with key G77 governments in pursuit of these efforts.View the event recording, outputs, and statements from FOC Ministers .