- Cape Verde–United States relations
Cape Verde -United States relations are cordial and have strong historical roots. In the early 18th century, U.S. whaling ships appear to have begun recruiting crews fromBrava andFogo to huntwhale s that were abundant in the waters surrounding Cape Verde. Ties between the American colonies and Cape Verde are documented as early as the 1740s, when American ships routinely anchored in Cape Verdean ports to trade forsalt or buyslave s. The tradition ofemigration to the United States began at that time and continues today.The first U.S.
consulate in sub-Saharan Africa was established in Cape Verde in 1818. U.S. consular representation continued throughout the 19th century. The United States recognized Cape Verde on its independence day and supported its admission to theUnited Nations . Cape Verde assigned one of its firstambassador s to the United States, and a resident U.S. ambassador was posted to Cape Verde in 1983. Prime MinisterJose Neves visited Cape Verdean communities in New England during an official trip to the United States in 2002, and PresidentPires visited the United States in April 2005. (Prime Minister Neves also visited the U.S. in September 2007.)The United States provided emergency
humanitarian aid and economic assistance to Cape Verde in the period immediately following Cape Verde's independence, as well as after natural disasters, including ahurricane that struck the island of Brava in 1982, and after a severevolcanic eruption on Fogo in 1995. Cape Verde also is eligible for trade benefits under theAfrican Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), and has signed an Open Skies agreement to facilitate air travel safety and expansion. On July 4, 2005, Cape Verde became the third country to sign a compact with the U.S. Government-fundedMillennium Challenge Corporation (MCC); the five-year assistance package is worth over $110 million in addressing rural economic expansion,infrastructure development, and development oftourism and acommunity college system.Principal U.S. Officials
*
Ambassador --Roger D. Pierce
* Deputy Chief of Mission--Patrick Dunn
* Consul--Kirsten Thompson
* Political Consular Officer--Ruth RudzinskiDiplomatic missions
The U.S.
Embassy in Cape Verde is inPraia .See also
*
Foreign relations of Cape Verde
*Foreign relations of the United States
*Cape Verdean American References
StateDept [http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/2835.htm]
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.