Africa-Press – Angola. Angola and Kenya sign, on Saturday, 13 agreements in various areas, to promote bilateral cooperation, within the framework of the state visit of the Angolan President, João Lourenço.
The verbal process for signing these instruments were initialed this Thursday, in Nairobi, during the 1st meeting of the Mixed Bilateral Commission, by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Angola, Téte António, and by the Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and Affairs Kenyan Diaspora, Musalia Mudavadi.
These are agreements in the areas of Health, agriculture, environment, mineral resources, oil and gas, tourism, telecommunications, Information and Communication Technologies, Transport and Maritime Cooperation, Commerce and Industry, Youth, among others.
A Memorandum of Understanding will also be signed between the Venâncio de Moura Diplomatic Academy of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Angola and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Kenya.
Cooperation between the two countries will also be supported by the Memorandum of Understanding between the National School of Administration and Public Policy (ENAPP) and the Kenya Government School in the Field of Capacity Development in the Public Service.
Speaking at the end of the 1st Meeting of the Angola/Kenya Mixed Commission, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Angola, Téte António, stated that the holding of the inaugural session marks a new stage in the strengthening of bilateral relations between the two countries.
From this perspective, he considered it to be a historic moment that will allow the parties to intensify cooperation, based on the General Cooperation Agreement in the Economic, Scientific, Technical and Cultural domains, signed in Luanda on January 15, 2014, which will allow the signing of other legal instruments sectoral.
Téte António reiterated Angola’s interest in intensifying cooperation with Kenya, through the exploration of the various potential available, with reciprocal advantages, particularly in the Political-Diplomatic domains, Strengthening the Capacities of Public Service, Health and Agriculture and Forests.
The minister informed that the technical teams also identified other areas of cooperation that must be finalized in the shortest possible time, and therefore urged related sectors to work in close collaboration in order to achieve this goal, within the jointly agreed deadlines.
Therefore, he said, technical teams must be held responsible for establishing a practical and flexible mechanism that allows the supervision and monitoring of the commitments made in this Bilateral Joint Commission.
Economic growth
According to the minister, Angola, thanks to its political stability and the consolidation of its macroeconomic indicators, has dedicated particular attention to the country’s socioeconomic growth and development.
In effect, it made known to the Kenyan side that the Angolan Executive has promoted a set of internal reforms, with a view to establishing a business environment that is more conducive to boosting economic and commercial cooperation with other countries in the world in general, and in particularly with African countries.
“Angola and Kenya are two countries with economic realities and potential, whose complementarity and comparative advantages will serve to leverage productive capacity and wealth creation, with benefits for both States and Peoples”, he stated.
Téte António recognized Kenya’s potential in the Tourism and Agriculture sectors, as well as the flag carrier, Kenyan Airways, considered for several years as one of the best in Africa.
It is in this context, according to the minister, that Angola intends to “drink” from the Kenyan experience, and more particularly in attracting private investment from this country in these and other areas.
For his part, the Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and Diaspora Affairs of Kenya, Musalia Mudavadi, said that the signing of the agreements will represent a clear and responsible signal of how the parties are interested in strengthening bilateral ties.
Therefore, he stated that it is essential to work on its materialization, so that Angola and Kenya can overcome the challenges of development, for the benefit of the populations.
He highlighted the fact that the strong interest of the parties resulted in this 1st Meeting of the Mixed Commission, established in 2014, and the visit of the President of the Republic, João Lourenço.
Musalia Mudavadi expressed Kenya’s interest in working together with Angola to increasingly strengthen friendly relations, also for the development of Africa.
The friendly relationship between Angola and Kenya dates back to the years of the struggle for our independence, when the then President of the Republic of Kenya, Jomo Kenyatta, brought together at the same table, in 1975, the leaders of Angola’s liberation movements, to align of a common vision about their liberation. But cooperation, in the broadest sense of the word, gained momentum in 2010, when Kenya Airways began flying to Luanda, under an agreement in the air transport sector, signed a year later, that is, in 2011.
Meanwhile, in 2014, Angola and Kenya signed four agreements that reinforced bilateral cooperation, namely, the General Agreement on Economic, Scientific, Technical and Cultural Cooperation; the Memorandum of Understanding on Political Consultations between the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Angola and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Kenya; the Agreement on the Creation of the Bilateral Commission; the Agreement for the Operation of Air Services between and beyond the respective territories, in the field of transport.
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