Africa-Press – Angola. The country intends to reduce the contribution of the oil sector to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) to 20 percent by 2027, according to the Minister of Economy and Planning.
Mário Caetano João, who was speaking yesterday, in Luanda, at the opening of the first edition of the “Global Business Angola” (GBA) forum, informed that the contribution of the oil sector to GDP rose from 42 percent in 2011 to 28 percent in 2022.
For the official, the success of the macroeconomic stabilization program in progress since 2018, allowed Angola to leave the long period of economic recession, in 2021, with the growth of the non-oil sector reaching 6.4 percent.
Opportunities
According to the Minister of Economy and Planning, the Angolan Government considers agribusiness a key segment for economic growth, for the transformation of Angola into one of the main food producers in Africa, in the light of the National Development Plan (PND) 2023- 2027.
In this forum, Angola presents UAE investors with opportunities to invest in this agricultural sector, when for that five-year period the State intends to disburse around three billion dollars, in the agricultural sector, with the PLANAGRÃO programme.
To this end, according to the minister, the Government intends to rely on the Fiscal, Monetary and External sectors in the continuous balance of accounts, as well as the potential of human capital, in addition to the private sector, to achieve the desired objectives.
“The country is unlocking every year, in terms of plant and animal production. The country is virgin and has around 50 million hectares of arable land and we use around 15 to 20 percent. So it’s very low”, said.
Organized by the Dubai Chamber of Commerce in partnership with the Ministry of Economy and Planning, the three-day forum includes intense debates, spread over several panels, round tables and meetings between investors.
The initiative aims to encourage synergies between the UAE and Angola in attracting private investment to develop the country’s technical and management skills.
The volume of business between the two countries is approximately US$2 billion, of which US$1.6 billion correspond to the export of goods to Dubai, with the UAE importing goods worth US$400 million from Angola of dollars.
The area that most attracts investors from the Emirates is mining, with emphasis on precious stones, such as diamonds. There are already some fertilizer production businesses.
Diamond industry
The chairman of the board of directors of Sociedade de Comercialização de Diamantes de Angola (SODIAM), Eugénio Pereira Bravo da Rosa, presented business opportunities in the diamond sector valued at US$575 million. In this regard, the highlight of the investments estimated at US$200 million are located in the mines of Lunhinga (Lunda-Norte), Luaxe (Lunda-Sul), two of which are already in production.
Currently, the Angolan diamond sector has twelve secondary and two primary deposits, and the outlook for this year is production of 10 million carats, valued at US$1,800 billion, with an annual growth trend of 10 percent.
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