Foreign Relations of the United States, 1977–1980, Volume XVII, Part 2, Sub-Saharan Africa

66. Memorandum of Conversation¹

Praia, July 23, 1980, 1:45–2:20 p.m.

SUBJECT

• Meeting in Cape Verde during Vice President Mondale’s Trip to West Africa

PARTICIPANTS

• U.S.

  • Vice President Mondale
  • Sophia Porson (interpreter)

• Cape Verde

  • Prime Minister Pires

Prime Minister Pires welcomed the Vice President, saying that he was most honored and gratified to receive him in Cape Verde, particularly in view of the special relationship that exists between our two countries owing to the many Cape Verdeans living in the U.S.

Pires regretted that the Vice President could stay so little time. He would have wished him to visit the other islands, especially inasmuch as Sal was not representative of the rest of the archipelago. He described the topographic and climatic conditions of Cape Verde, referring in the main to the drought. The Vice President was aware of the problem and sympathetic about it, pointing to our own arid lands and the recent drought that has ravaged our Southwest and Midwest.

Referring to the large Cape Verdean population in the U.S., the Vice President asked if many returned to the islands to visit. Pires said a fair number had traditionally come back to live once they were eligible for pensions, and that since independence interest in the country had grown among the emigrants more and more were returning as visitors.

The Vice President then told Pires that he had had good visits to Senegal, Niger, and Nigeria,² where he had had comprehensive exchanges of views with their leaders. During his talk with Pires, he especially wanted to hear the Government of Cape Verde’s concerns, to know how our assistance was working and what more we could do to help, since that was our desire. He then hoped to hear Pires’ views on Angola, a country with which we would like to have better relations. Since Cape Verde and Angola shared a common history in their relationship to Portugal, he knew that the Cape Verdeans understood the Angolans and he was interested in what they thought we should do in relation to Angola.

Pires’ response to the first question was that their most pressing, immediate worry was that the rains were very late in coming, as the Vice President had no doubt already heard in Senegal.

On cooperation with the United States in general, he described it as “quite good.” Extensive talks had been held with AID representatives in which the Cape Verdeans had been able to describe their problems. A series of projects were planned or under way, which Pires outlined briefly:

Two desalinization projects, one on Sao Vicente to expand and improve an existing plant, and a new one on Sal, which had been delayed but thanks to Goler Butcher’s visit would now be going forward.³ Pires emphasized this project’s value to the Sal population, the airport, and the present and future hotel facilities. He used the Sal project to make the general point of how essential all water-related projects were to Cape Verde’s future, equalled in importance only by finding means to meet the country’s energy needs.

A brief general discussion followed on the economics of desalinization and on non-conventional sources of energy.

Pires then resumed his description of the AID program, mentioning the Tarrafal and Sao Tiago agricultural and soil conservation projects, school construction, and research on non-conventional energy sources. This prompted the Vice President to ask an aide to invite Dr. John Sawhill of DOE to join the conversation. While we waited for him to arrive, the VP gave the PM President Carter’s letter to President Pereira.⁴

Pires continued with his outline of the AID program, saying how important the food assistance was to his country. He described the operation of the National Development Fund, stressing its value in creating employment and his government’s philosophy in administering it, i.e. selling the food rather than giving it away, so as not to create a “beggar mentality” among the people, and then investing the proceeds in labor-intensive projects, particularly in agriculture.

The Vice President informed Pires that the U.S. would be providing 5,000 tons of corn above the 10,000 already agreed upon, as soon as adequate storage became available. Pires acknowledged that, adding that discussions were in progress on the receipt of food assistance under Title III. The VP responded that we were pleased to work with the Cape Verdeans on this, indicating how complicated our legislation is.

At this point Dr. Sawhill arrived, and the conversation turned back to energy. Pires described his country’s dependence on diesel-fueled generators, their inability to effect economies of scale because the islands were so small, and even to have an integrated power system on each island. CV places great hope in eventually being able to use solar, wind, and sea energy (the latter taking advantage of the differences in temperature between the various layers of water). He described the newly created Technical Research Institute which will be concentrating on such forms of energy. The GOCV has been in touch with various European governments about the institute, and have found the Swedes to be especially interested in helping. Also, the Institute’s director was recently in the U.S. making contacts there.

Dr. Sawhill said the DOE would be happy to receive the Director and to show him the various technologies we are working on. Pires replied that the Institute was still being organized, existing largely on paper and with few staff members. In any case, Dr. Sawhill undertook to provide whatever documentation the Institute might wish and to cooperate in other ways. Prime Minister Pires promised to follow up on the offer.

Pires added that there was already a wind energy project with AID on Sao Tiago, and that Cape Verde was also involved via CILSS in some regional energy activities that received U.S. assistance. In fact, it was possible that the future CILSS center for research on non-conventional energy sources would be located in Cape Verde.

The Vice President said that he had been very impressed with his visit to the CILSS Agrhymet center in Niamey, and told the Prime Minister about the Cape Verdean trainees he had met there. The VP was pleased that Cape Verde was involved in the CILSS regional program, since essentially the Sahel countries faced the same problems. That was true, responded Pires, but Cape Verde’s situation was more complicated because of its being made up of islands.

In connection with training, Pires informed the Vice President that there were Cape Verdeans in the U.S. now being trained, mainly to work with the AID agriculture and irrigation projects.

In summary, Pires said, there was broad cooperation between the U.S. and Cape Verde, with which his government was pleased.

The Vice President then informed the Prime Minister that we would be doubling our scholarship program, raising it from $100,000 to $200,000.

At this point, the Vice President was notified that it was time to make his departure statement, and the private meeting broke up. Before leaving the VIP lounge, however, a quick conversation on Angola was held, in which the other people in the room were included (some GOCV officials including Foreign Minister Duarte, and, on our side, Denis Clift, Jerry Funk, Tony Lake, and Ed Torre).

Pires told the Vice President that prior to his arrival in Cape Verde the Angolans had been in touch with the GOCV. The Angolans were very concerned about finding a solution to the whole Namibia-South Africa problem and with the latest activity in the U.S. Congress on the Clark Amendment.⁵

The Vice President said that he did not think the Senate modification of the Clark Amendment had any chance of coming out of the House-Senate conference. Even if it were approved, however, we had no intention of changing our present policy and no intention of intervening in Angola. What we wanted, simply, was that the parties there resolve their differences peacefully.

Pires responded that the Angolans feel the problem of South Africa has to be resolved; with that, the Namibian and other problems can be worked out. The VP asked if he did not mean that the Namibian problem had to be resolved first. Pires acknowledged that that was right, but that it was the South Africans who were invading Angola.

The Vice President then stated that we hoped to be able to force South Africa to agree to the holding of UN-supervised elections, which would allow for the creation of a democratically elected government as was the case in Zimbabwe. This in turn would provide justification for President dos Santos to have the Cubans leave Angola. Pires answered that that was the Angolans’ position exactly.

The Vice President remarked that we have been working exceedingly hard on the Namibian question. If Pires had any ideas on how we should be dealing with the South Africans, we would welcome his advice. We are doing what we can to pressure them to let go.

Tony Lake added that we had been working closely with Angola on the Namibia question. The first step had to be an agreement on Namibia. With that settled, the big benefit would be that it would reduce the reasons given for the Cuban presence in Angola. Pires responded that the Angolans were very open to cooperation on settling the Namibia problem. That, said Vice President Mondale, was all the more reason for us not to let up on our efforts there.

The meeting ended at this point, the Vice President delivered his departure statement to the press in the public lounge, and then we went out to the plane. There, Pires again expressed his great pleasure in having met with the Vice President and asked him to come back and spend more time in Cape Verde. The Vice President said he would be delighted to do so.

1. Source: Carter Library, Donated Material, Mondale Papers, Box 36, Vice President’s Visit to West Africa [7/17/80–7/23/80] Background—Memcons and Speeches [2]. Confidential. The meeting took place at the Sal Island Airport. Drafted by Porson.
2. See Documents 63–65.
3. In telegram 1102 from Praia, July 8, the Embassy reported on some of the details of Butcher’s June trip to Cape Verde. (National Archives, RG 59, Central Foreign Policy File, D800328–1103)
4. In the July 12 letter to Pereira, Carter praised Cape Verde’s non-alignment stance and program of economic development. (Carter Library, Donated Material, Mondale Papers, Box 37, Vice President’s Visit to West Africa [7/17/80–7/23/80], President’s Letter [to President Pereira])
5. The Clark amendment to the Arms Export Control Act of 1976 forbade aid to groups involved in military operations in Angola.