Africa-Press – Angola. Diplomatic relations between Italy and Angola, which during the pandemic period were marked by ups and downs, have improved significantly in recent years with the exchange of visits at the highest level, said the Italian ambassador to the country, Cristiano Gallo.
Speaking to the press on the occasion of Italy’s 78th anniversary (National Festival), marked, June 2, Cristiano Gallo said that President João Lourenço’s state visit to Italy, a year ago, confirmed, at the highest level, the firmness of historic bilateral relations.
“We were still in the painful period of the pandemic that greatly limited our contacts”, but which was quickly recovered through hard work to reactivate diplomatic channels and institutional and political exchanges.
The objective, he said, was to “strengthen the prosperous relations that the pandemic had almost frozen”, and this was achieved with the extraordinary visit of President João Lourenço from Italy, in a clear confirmation of the highest firmness of historic cooperation relations.
“A relationship that was born, grew and has always walked with the feet of the women and men who chose Angola and Italy to live and work, starting with the missionary and religious priests of various orders who at that time were the true pioneers, the businessmen and volunteers from NGOs”, he highlighted.
He added that from generation to generation, these “pioneers” formed a solid human relationship that only later turned into business, commercial exchange and much more.
“We are all friends, Italy and Angola, before being economic and commercial partners. On this basis, we have built and will work to strengthen our old relations, but always looking towards the future”, said the Italian ambassador.
Italy’s National Day, the “Festa della Repubblica Italiana”, is celebrated annually on June 2, a date that corresponds to the institutional referendum that took place in 1946, after the end of the Second World War and the fall of fascism, for the Italian people decide which form of government to adopt.
The ceremony, which took place at the residence of the Italian ambassador accredited in Angola, brought together several individuals, members of the Angolan Executive, deputies, diplomatic corps, representatives of Italian civil society companies.
Brief history of Angola/Italy Relations
Since 1977, Angola and Italy have maintained cooperative relations, when the memorandum establishing the Bilateral Commission, formerly called the Mixed Cooperation Commission, was signed.
Angola and Italy signed the first legal instrument, called the Air Transport Agreement, on April 10, 1976.
Angola is Italy’s third trading partner in sub-Saharan Africa, after South Africa and Nigeria.
The Italian Government has considered Angola as a priority country for its cooperation strategy in Sub-Saharan Africa since 1989.
The President of Italy, Sergio Mattarella, visited Angola in February 2019. Meanwhile, cooperation was reinforced, in 2023, with the visit of the Angolan Head of State to the European country.
As part of the visit, the two States signed several cooperation agreements, with emphasis on the areas of oil, transport, finance and health.
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