Angola and Cape Verde are members of the African Union, Community of Portuguese Language Countries, Group of 77 and the United Nations.

Both Angola and Cape Verde were united for four hundred years as part of the Portuguese Empire.

In the 1940s, Cape Verde suffered a devastating cycle of droughts and famines that killed almost half of the population of the then colony.

After the South African invasion of Angola as part of the South African Border War; Cape Verde created an air corridor that allowed Cuban forces to travel from the Island of Sal to Luanda in the name of solidarity with Angola.

In June 2021, Angolan President João Lourenço paid an official visit to Cape Verde.