CFP on a cooperation mission in Praia, Cape Verde

Invited by its Cape Verdean counterpart, the Portuguese Public Finance Council travelled to Praia, Santiago Island, to participate in a series of cooperation initiatives that took place from February 12 to 14, 2025.

The mission aimed to strengthen cooperation between the two institutions, develop best practices in public finance, and raise awareness among Cape Verdean entities about the role of Public Finance Councils in promoting transparency, budgetary discipline, and enhancing the sustainability of public finances.

The President of the CFP, Nazaré da Costa Cabral, board members Patrícia Semião and Noémia Goulart, and the Staff Director, Carlos Marinheiro, began technical meetings on February 12 at the CFP of Cape Verde's premises. Various topics were discussed, including deepening cooperation between the two independent fiscal institutions. Osvaldo Borges, President of the CFP of Cape Verde, Carlos Rocha, Carla Carvalhal, Albertina Fortes and Minarvino Furtado, board members of the CFP of Cape Verde, then provided an overall assessment of the institution's first year of operation.

On February 13, the Portuguese delegation, along with their counterpart, met with the President of the National Assembly of Cape Verde, Austelino Correia. During the meeting, the President of the National Assembly praised the excellent cooperation relations between the two countries, highlighting the recent joint summit and its significant outcomes in economic, financial, and cultural domains. He also commended the work of the Public Finance Councils of Portugal and Cape Verde, emphasizing the benefits they bring to transparency and democracy in both countries.

The CFP also met with the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance of Cape Verde, Olavo Correia. The meeting discussed the importance of independent fiscal institutions for the proper functioning of democratic societies in general and for promoting the sustainability of public finances in particular, as well as the importance of access to information for fulfilling their mandates. This courtesy visit also included the presence of the Secretary of State for Finance, Alcindo Mota, and other leaders of the Cape Verdean Ministry of Finance.

The cooperation mission between the CFP of Portugal and the CFP of Cape Verde culminated in the conference "Fiscal Policy Supervision: Portuguese and Cape Verdean Experiences," organized by the Public Finance Council of Cape Verde, held on February 14 at the Banco de Cabo Verde auditorium. The conference was attended by political figures and representatives of sovereign bodies, members of the diplomatic corps, senior leaders of various institutions, representatives of various public and private entities, both national and foreign, representatives of academia, as well as the presence and coverage by Cape Verdean media.

The opening session was led by Osvaldo Borges, President of the CFP of Cape Verde, Nazaré da Costa Cabral, President of the Senior Board of the CFP, and Ulisses Correia e Silva, Prime Minister of Cape Verde.

Noémia Goulart began the presentations with the topic "The role of the Public Finance Council in democratic societies – the Portuguese experience," followed by Carlos Rocha with the topic "Reflections on the fiscal rules set out in Law No. 55/IX/2019, of July 1 (Cape Verde)." The topic "Reform of the legislative framework for Portuguese fiscal supervision within the scope of the European economic governance reform" was presented by Carlos Marinheiro and Nazaré da Costa Cabral. The speakers then participated in a round table open to audience questions.