PRAIA, Cape Verde

When Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton visited Africa in August, she ended her trip on a refreshingly positive note. Her historic decision to visit Cape Verde, an island nation 300 miles off the west coast of Africa, shines a bright spotlight on a true African success story. As Secretary Clinton acknowledged, “In preparation for my visit to Africa, I have a sheet of paper for each country. And, for each country there were many more problems than positives. But for Cape Verde, there are so many more positives, and just very few problems.”

Cape Verde’s abundance of “positives” stems from a simple yet powerful reality: It continues to put policies and programs in place that deliver for its people and their prosperity. It practices good governance with a stable democratic system, promotes the rule of law and protects human rights and civil liberties. Consider that Cape Verde is the only African county where women make up more than half of the government’s cabinet ministers. It is also pursuing market-oriented economic policies to attract private investment and develop such key industries as tourism, light manufacturing, fisheries and energy to create reliable jobs for Cape Verdeans.

It is a friend of the United States, working with us on issues of mutual interest, from expanding trade, to combating narcotics and human trafficking, to promoting regional security and stability. No wonder Secretary Clinton aptly called Cape Verde a “model of democracy and economic progress in Africa.”

Such progress also builds a strong foundation for Cape Verde’s work to lift its citizens out of poverty. The poverty rate at 27 percent remains a pressing problem. That is why Cape Verdeans are leveraging U.S. development assistance with transparency and accountability to win the fight against poverty. The government is maximizing the benefits of such assistance by matching it with its own resources and integrating it with resources from other donors or the private sector. Because of this approach, American taxpayers can rest assured that their resources are being invested in smart and effective ways in Cape Verde.

I am a witness to this as I see American Peace Corps volunteers manage education and community-development projects, including programs to teach life skills, protect against HIV/AIDS, and advise entrepreneurs about how to attain business profitability. I see progress also through the U.S. government’s Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC), an innovative approach to aid that partners with countries willing to practice sound policies and build the capacity to implement solutions for growth determined by their own citizens.

Cape Verde is among the first countries to qualify for MCC assistance, investing its $110 million grant to build roads, modernize the Port of Praia, spur private-sector development and boost the agricultural productivity of farmers. To ensure the sustainability of these projects, Cape Verde took the initiative, for example, to set aside a maintenance fund to provide for the upkeep of its newly constructed roads. To maximize resources with expertise from the private sector, Cape Verde attracted Agland Investment Services Inc., a California-based company, to train Cape Verdean farmers.

Through these efforts, Cape Verde is on track to reach the United Nations Millennium Development Goals by 2015, aimed at eradicating extreme poverty and achieving key human-development benchmarks, such as reduced child mortality, improved maternal health and expanded education for girls. This is no small feat, and yet another reason why few places, in the words of Secretary Clinton, “demonstrate the promise of Africa better than Cape Verde.”

For all the challenges that too often define Africa — disease, poverty, corruption, the marginalization of women — Cape Verde stands tall as a bastion of real reform that is redefining perceptions about the continent. Cape Verdeans expect more for themselves and their children, and are implementing the necessary steps to forge a future of political stability, reduced poverty, economic growth and opportunity that will make a sustainable difference in their quality of life. The American people are understandably proud to partner with Cape Verde in this pursuit.

Together with the large Cape Verdean community in the United States, we should now recommit to realizing the full potential of this island nation and recognizing it for what it is: a shining example of forward-thinking African leadership.

Marianne M. Myles is the U.S. ambassador to Cape Verde.