LUANDA, Angola
Angolan President, João Lourenço, signed a series of new bilateral cooperation agreements with Portugal’s Prime Minister, António Costa, during a two-day state visit by the Premier to Angola’s capital city of Luanda.
President Lourenço received
Prime Minister Costa on 5 June at the Presidential Palace in Luanda.
During the two-day visit,
talks between delegations of the two countries resulted in the signing of
13 agreements,
including a Strategic Cooperation Program 2023-2027 and the reinforcement of
the Portugal-Angola credit line from $1.6 to $2.1 billion.
A Memorandum of Understanding
between the administrations of the Portuguese ports of Sines and the Algarve
and the Angolan Barra do Dande Development Society was also signed.
“What we need is to increase
Portuguese investment in Angola wherever possible,” stated President Lourenço, adding, “I have to say that
we sensed a great willingness to collaborate on the part of the Portuguese
justice system, with whom we were able to exchange not only information, but
also the alignment of Angola’s anti-corruption strategy, and to say that in
principle, everything that was asked of the Portuguese authorities so that we
could find the right correspondent.”
Poised to contribute to the
diversification of Angola’s economy – a stated priority by the country’s
Government – the cooperation agreements are indicative of the strong presence
of Portuguese companies operating in Angola and the ongoing strength of
Luso-Angolan relations.
According to Prime Minister Costa, the visit
represents “a concrete mark of the strengthening of cooperation between two
friendly countries at a very high moment in Portuguese-Angolan relations,” and
will serve to “respond to President João Lourenço’s ambition for Portugal to
contribute to the diversification of the Angolan economy.”
The Angolan delegation
featured the participation of the country’s Ministers of Finance, Fernando
Medina; of Foreign Affairs, João Gomes Cravinho; of Economy, António Costa
Silva; of Agriculture, Maria do Céu Antunes; and by the Secretary of State for
Foreign Affairs, Francis Andre.
With activities ranging from
energy, telecommunications, banking, engineering and construction,
agro-industry, tourism, and education, Portugal serves as one of Angola’s most
important international partners. Over the past three years, exports from
Angola to Portugal represented a total $1.2 million, while imports represented
a total $4.5 million. - Africa
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