Africa-Press – Angola. The Prime Minister of Portugal, António Costa, starts on Monday a two-day official visit to Angola, during which several bilateral cooperation agreements will be signed.
Among the agreements, a new strategic cooperation program and a strengthening of the credit line stand out.
António Costa heads a Portuguese ministerial delegation that will meet with Angolan counterparts to reinforce and define new areas of cooperation.
As part of the visit, the Prime Minister of Portugal will hold, on Monday, a private meeting with the President of the Republic, João Lourenço, at the Palácio da Cidade Alta.
Also at the Presidential Palace, the two entities should witness the official talks between delegations from both countries.
For Monday afternoon, the head of the Portuguese Government’s agenda includes a trip to the Special Economic Zone, in Viana, which will be followed by a reception for Portuguese businessmen.
For Tuesday, António Costa plans to visit Banco Caixa Angola, the Fortress of São Francisco do Penedo, as well as the Portuguese School in Luanda.
The Republics of Angola and Portugal established diplomatic relations on March 9, 1976.
Expectations
The visit is expected to serve to assess the state of bilateral cooperation, put its expansion into perspective and make an approach to the political, economic and social situation of the two countries.
António Costa’s visit to Angola should also serve to assess existing bilateral cooperation mechanisms, including the Strategic Cooperation Program 2023/2027.
The document constitutes the reference base for cooperation between Angola and Portugal.
Also noteworthy is the signing, on October 27, 2003, of the Convention on Social Security and the Visa Facilitation Protocol.
The protocol aims to contribute to the development of business activities, the growth of investment, as well as exchanges in the fields of Education, Culture, Sport and Science and Technology.
Also worth mentioning is the Memorandum of Understanding between the Governments of Angola and Portugal on Political Consultations, as well as the Agreement on Promotion and Reciprocal Protection of Investments (APPRI), of 22 February 2008.
economic relations
In Angola there is a strong presence of Portuguese companies operating in sectors such as construction and banking.
Portugal is also an important exporter of food and beverage products to Angola.
As for Angola, it is the main African investor in Portugal with activities ranging from energy, telecommunications and banking.
Taking into account their dynamism, bilateral relations are considered positive and have been growing over the years.
There are around nine thousand Portuguese companies exporting to Angola, despite the fact that trade between the two countries has declined significantly in recent years, given the difficulty in accessing foreign exchange and the COVID-19 pandemic situation that the world experienced in 2020, in the most pronounced phase of the virus.
In the last three (3) years, exports of goods from Angola to Portugal represented a total of US$1,222,188,726 million and US$4,581,426,021 million in imports.
The figure corresponds to a negative trade balance of around USD 3,359,237,296 million.
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