Praia – The president of the Cape Verde-China Friendship Association (Amicachi) admits that language continues to be the main difficulty in integrating the Chinese community in Cape Verde, while more than 1,000 Cape Verdean students already learn Mandarin in the country.
Speaking to the Lusa news agency, on the sidelines of the Cape Verde-China Business Economic Forum, which takes place in the city of Praia, José Correia said that the Chinese community lives mainly in commercial activity and is “well integrated”.
For the approximately 2,000 Chinese whom the association estimates are working and living in Cape Verde, language and culture are the main challenges.
For its part, Mandarin is becoming increasingly attractive to Cape Verdean students, with 1,000 learning this language in various Cape Verdean educational establishments.
Since January 2016, the Confucius Institute, a not-for-profit training institution that aims to disseminate and improve understanding of the Chinese language and culture, has been installed in Cape Verde.
The installation of the Confucius Institute in Cape Verde was due in large part to the Amicachi association, which was the first to teach Mandarin and Chinese culture in the country.
At the end of the Chinese cultural week in Cape Verde, which ends only Saturday, with a show in Mindelo, Sao Vicente island, José Correia welcomed the “cultural dialogue” that has marked these days.
For Amicachi president, “the big challenge is to attract Chinese investments to Cape Verde”, pointing to sectors such as “tourism, the maritime economy, information and communication technologies”.
On the constant aid that the Chinese government has provided to Cape Verde, José Correia said that “China is one of Cape Verde’s partners”, but there are others.
“We think that this partnership with China is good and Cape Verde, being an independent country, knows how to manage well the different partnerships it has mobilized. The main objective is the development of Cape Verde. “
