Praia, June 4, 2025 (Lusa) - The Minister for Investment Promotion and Business Development of Cabo Verde said on Wednesday that the country is open to regulated labour immigration, within a framework of organised bilateral cooperation, in view of the needs of some sectors.
“We are considering this possibility and making contacts to this end. We are open to agreements on regulated and controlled labour immigration,” said Eurico Monteiro on the sidelines of a forum on the labour market organised by his ministry in Praia.
The minister cited cases of affinity with countries on the west coast of Africa, mentioning Guinea-Bissau, Senegal and São Tomé and Príncipe, and said that the aim was to “flexibilise” the “organised” integration of immigrants.
“Immigrants who come prepared to enter vocational training or who already have previous training,” he explained, always with the aim of “integration into the labour market”.
“Not only do we see [this possibility], but we already have indications from institutions that they want to work in this area,” added Eurico Monteiro.
The minister said that immigrants already in the country are showing positive signs of integration.
“I am pleased when I see data from the National Statistics Institute (INE) on the immigrant community in Cabo Verde” with various indices (access to electricity, water, schools, among others) showing that “it is well integrated, not marginalised”.
“Therefore, yes, we are open to regulated labour immigration within a framework of bilateral cooperation,” he concluded.
The lack of labour in some sectors and migration have been recurring topics of debate in Cabo Verde.
Elísio Freire, Minister of State and Social Development of Cabo Verde, said in April that the country “has a labour shortage in several key sectors”, such as “construction and agriculture”, echoing complaints from employers.
“The country has to prepare to receive citizens from other countries who are looking to work here,” he said.
At the beginning of the year, the country’s president, José Maria Neves, warned of the departure of Cabo Verdeans from the archipelago, calling for an analysis of the impact.
Cabo Verdean sociologists interviewed by Lusa classified the departure as a risk, calling for careful management with Portugal.
For Eurico Monteiro, among other factors, it is necessary to improve working conditions, for example by offering better wages, so that the workforce prefers to stay in Cabo Verde.
“It is a complicated, difficult battle, but we have to gradually improve working conditions,” he said today on the sidelines of the forum in Praia, adding that he already has reports of “positive results in the construction and tourism sectors,” where it is noted that “there is an effort” and an “improvement in wage conditions.”
“We have to make an effort with more assertive public policies, with more quality vocational training and, at the same time, policies that can strengthen companies so that they can offer better working conditions,” he said.
The minister said that there must be “an effort on the part of employers, who have to realise that, if there are alternatives in the labour market, if they do not meet the minimum requirements, they will end up losing their workforce”.
He argued that the government has been working to ease the tax burden while broadening the tax base so that revenues continue to grow.
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