Africa-Press – Angola. Relations between Angola and Italy have a depth and connection that goes way beyond institutional ties, covering a bunch of sectors, said the Italian ambassador to Angola, Marco Ricci, on Monday in Luanda.
Speaking at the 79th anniversary of the Italian Republic Day celebrated on June 2, the diplomat recalled that although the two republics are relatively young, Angola and Italy have strong ties dating back more than four centuries.
The diplomat recalled the historical fact that Prince António Manuel Nsaku Ne Vunda arrived in Rome as ambassador of the King of Congo to the court of Pope Paul V to seek greater autonomy for the Catholic Church in Congo (now Angola), to the detriment of the Portuguese colonists.
He emphasized that António Manuel Nsaku Ne Vunda died and was buried in Rome, being the first and only African buried in the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore, the same place where Pope Francis was buried this year.
Marco Ricci also highlighted the fact that in the 17th century, two priests of the Capuchin order, namely António da Gaeta and Giovanni Cavazzi di Montecuccolo, were the closest advisors to Queen Njinga Mbandi, which proves the existence of secular relations between the two countries.
The diplomat pointed out that one of Cavazzi’s literary works, enriched with drawings of scenes from life at the time, is not only an incomparable ethnographic document on 17th-century Angola, but also a unique testimony to the ties between Italy and Angola.
Since then, the diplomat added, this rapprochement is still very much alive, thanks also to the contribution of many Italian entities, initially religious, then with sectors of Italian civil society mainly in the national liberation struggle that led to National Independence, which will celebrate its 50th anniversary on November 11.
Marco Ricci recalled that Italy was the first country in Western Europe to recognize Angola as a sovereign state in February 1976, and since then has maintained friendly and cooperative relations at all levels, during the difficult years of armed conflict to the present day.
The diplomat mentioned the fact that the first edition of the poems of António Agostinho Neto, the first President of the Republic of Angola, was launched in Milan by the publisher II Saggiatore (owned by Alberto Mondadori) in February 1963.
He highlighted that in April 1968, Italian journalist Augusta Conchiglia entered Angola clandestinely with filmmaker Stefano de Stefani to report on the ongoing liberation struggle, noting that many photos taken at the time were displayed at the commemorative dinner for Republic Day and Italian Day.
Augusta Conchiglia was awarded the Independence medal last week by the President of the Republic, João Lourenço, for her contribution to the Angolan homeland, as part of the 50th anniversary of National Independence.
History of Angola-Italy relations
Angola and Italy have maintained cooperative relations since 1977, when the memorandum establishing the Bilateral Commission, formerly known as the Joint Cooperation Commission, was signed.
Angola and Italy signed their first legal instrument, the Air Transport Agreement, on April 10, 1976.
Angola is Italy’s third largest trading partner in sub-Saharan Africa, after South Africa and Nigeria.
The Italian government has considered Angola a priority country for its cooperation strategy in sub-Saharan Africa since 1989.
Italian President Sergio Mattarella visited Angola in February 2019. Meanwhile, cooperation was strengthened in 2023 with the visit of Angolan Head of State João Lourenço to the European country.
During the visit, the two states signed several cooperation agreements, particularly in the areas of oil, transport, finance, and health.
Also noteworthy was the participation of the Minister of State for Economic Coordination, José de Lima Massano, in the Italy-Africa Summit in January 2024.
The event was attended by several figures of the Angolan political panorama.
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