Mindelo – Angolan president João Lourenço was decorated Tuesday with the First Degree Order of Amilcar Cabral in Mindelo, Cape Verde.
The Angolan statesman was distinguished with Cape Verde’s highest honour in recognition of the intense and committed way in which he has worked to strengthen relations between the two countries.
The Angolan Head of State said the decoration serves as a stimulus to the efforts towards the strengthening of ties that unite Angolans and Cape Verdeans in favour of progress, economic growth and welfare of the populations of both countries.
“I feel deeply honoured to be bestowed today with the highest distinction of the Cape Verdean State, in a context in which the state visit is taking place, during which I have had the opportunity to address all issues that may contribute, in an expressive way, to the continuous strengthening of the ties of friendship, solidarity and cooperation,” Lourenço stressed.
The Angolan president, who considered the moment to be of great pride, said he understands this homage is not an act of personal nature, but a gesture of recognition of the role the Angolan people played, with deep dedication, in the movement of African Liberation Struggle for the eradication of the Apartheid regime in South Africa and subsequent liberation of Southern Africa.
“I am even more moved to be sharing this moment with the Cape Verdeans, who gave birth to one of the best sons of Africa, an intellectual of international stature, with a profoundly humanist stature, by whom we were inspired for the liberating stance in which we were involved for decades, in the struggle against colonial domination in Africa,” Mr Lourenço said, referring to Amilcar Cabral.
The Angolan President recalled that Amilcar Cabral is a respectable African figure, “who gives prestige and name to the honourable medal that has just been awarded to me”.
“We are participants in the construction of our nations and heirs of the legacy of Amilcar Cabral, Agostinho Neto and other figures of contemporary history of Africa, so it is our responsibility to be the continuators of the humanist work, which left us as inheritance, the patriotism that moved them, the sense of justice that permeated all their actions and the love they had for their people, for whom they dedicated much of their lives for the retrieval of the dignity of the African man,” emphasized the Angolan statesman.
João Lourenço said he was in Cape Verde to convey the feeling of sympathy and friendship that binds the two peoples through a common history, the healthy relationship that has developed over decades and that remains fraternal and always friendly, between Angola and Cape Verde.
Source: Angola Press News Agency