The President of Cape Verde begins a four-day official visit to Portugal on Monday, during which he will be presented with the Medal of the University of Coimbra in recognition of his contribution to the consolidation of democracy and the development of Cape Verde.
According to a note from the Presidency of the Republic, the award of this “rarely granted” medal was unanimously approved by the Senate of the University of Coimbra in October 2025. The senate highlighted José Maria Neves’s role “in the history of Cape Verde,” specifically for his leadership in democratic consolidation and the socioeconomic transformation of the country.
The medal will be presented at the Colégio da Trindade following a lecture titled “Creoleness and the Future of Humanity” (A Crioulidade e o Futuro da Humanidade), which the Cape Verdean head of state will deliver as part of the 44th edition of the Conversas da Casa da Lusofonia lecture series.
Prior to the ceremony, José Maria Neves will be received by the Mayor of Coimbra, Ana Abrunhosa.
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On Tuesday, the President’s itinerary includes a visit to Figueira da Foz, where he will be welcomed by Mayor Pedro Santana Lopes. He will tour the Port of Figueira da Foz, the Bandeira Viewpoint, and the Arts and Performing Arts Center (Centro de Artes e Espetáculos).
Following the events in Coimbra, the President will travel to Lisbon, where he will decorate Manuel de Almeida Damásio, the president of the Cooperativa de Formação e Animação Cultural (COFAC), with the first-class Medal of Merit.
The visit will conclude on Thursday with his participation in the celebrations of the 51st anniversary of the archipelago’s independence at the Cape Verde Cultural Center in Lisbon. The events will feature the inauguration of the exhibition “National Pride: The Teams That Take Cape Verde to the World,” which is dedicated to the Cape Verde national football team.
