Washington, Oct. 17, 2025 (Lusa) - Cabo Verde has used its leadership of the World Bank (WB) and International Monetary Fund (IMF) Board of Governors to discuss issues "crucial to Africa's future," such as concessional financing and climate change, according to the government.
In an interview with Lusa in Washington, on the sidelines of the IMF and WB Annual Meetings, Cabo Verde's deputy prime minister and minister of finance considered it a great privilege for the country to chair the Board of Governors this year and assessed it as the result of political, social and economic stability and also of the progress Cabo Verde has achieved over the last 50 years.
"Cabo Verde today is an example in many areas. Despite the challenges we have to overcome, the country is recognised as an example of good governance, good leadership, transparency, economic growth, development and in various indicators, namely access to energy, water and sanitation. Cabo Verde is at the top of the African continent," said Olavo Correia.
"This makes us stronger, but it is also a great responsibility," he admitted.
However, the minister assured that Cabo Verde will not use this moment of prominence solely for its own benefit, but also for the benefit of the African continent and small island states.
In addition to leading the Board of Governors of the World Bank and the IMF, Cabo Verde chairs the Small States Forum, participated in a G7 meeting as a special guest and held bilateral meetings in Washington with several personalities, including the President of the World Bank Group and the Managing Director of the IMF, among others.
"We will obviously take advantage of [this moment] to convey a message of positivity regarding the African continent and also regarding small states and small island states, of which Cabo Verde is a part, bringing to the debate issues that interest us, such as public debt and investment, climate change, diversification of the economy itself, multilateralism, and the need for access to concessional financing for investment demands in our countries," he told Lusa.
According to Olavo Correia, these are crucial issues for the future of Africa, Cabo Verde, and underdeveloped countries, and they deserve to be at the centre of the debates in the US capital.
However, Cabo Verde's main appeal is directed at the need for more concessional financing, particularly from the International Development Association (IDA), a World Bank agency that provides grants and low- or zero-interest loans to the world's poorest countries.
The trend today, the minister noted, is for a reduction in IDA activity worldwide, given that donor countries are facing domestic challenges.
The minister argued that conditions and guarantees should be created so that countries can access national and international markets, particularly through MIGA, the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency, the insurance and risk mitigation arm of the World Bank, created to encourage foreign direct investment in developing countries by providing guarantees against non-commercial risks such as war, civil unrest, currency transfer restrictions and breach of contract.
Only then, said Olavo Correia, will Cabo Verde be able to obtain the funds it needs for investments in areas that are fundamental to the country, such as air and sea transport, connectivity, energy, water, sanitation, education and health.
"These are huge sums of money, and we need large amounts and strong budgets to deliver results. And as we are seeing, today's youth are not waiting for results to appear in a decade or two. They have to appear today," he said.
"It is essential that we have good internal governance, vision, ambition, and strategy, but we also need financial capital to make things happen in these various areas that are important for our future," he added.
The minister of finance explained that the impact of climate change on small states is also an issue "that deserves a clinical look" and, therefore, Cabo Verde will bring the problems of these countries into the public debate so that "solutions can emerge as quickly as possible."
"It is not just a matter of whining or crying for more money, that is not what is at stake. What is at stake here is a transformative approach so that our countries can become developed countries and people can live a life with dignity and in dignity," he stressed.
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