Africa-Press – Angola. Angola’s envoy to the United States has been spending the early part of this week in Atlanta, taking part in Martin Luther King Jr. Day services and laying the groundwork for future trade ties with the city.
Ambassador Joaquim do Espírito Santo’s visit unearthed both poignantly historical and light-hearted modern connections between the cradle of the Civil Rights Movement and the oil-rich, Portuguese-speaking country in southern Africa.
In a week filled with civil rights remembrances, newly elected Atlantic City Council President Doug Shipman presented the ambassador with a proclamation that hearkened back 400 years to when Angolans were among the first slaves brought by Portuguese traders from the African continent to the American South. The plaque calls for Angola and Atlanta to work together in the continued fight to right that wrong, while designating Jan. 17 as “Angola Day in Atlanta.”
“Today, the story of America and Angola is one that has come nearly full circle, from tragedy and injustice to opportunity and hope,” it starts out, then continues: “Angola’s special connection with the United States provides an opportunity or Atlantans and Angolans to celebrate Martin Luther King Jr. Day and the ongoing fight of racial equality and social justice.”
By some estimates Angola was the country that suffered most from the Old World empires’ insatiable demand for forced labor in their New World colonies, losing millions of people to plantations in Portugal’s outpost in Brazil and elsewhere.
Mr. Espírito Santo visited City Hall and also met with the Metro Atlanta Chamber and the Georgia Department of Economic Development to discuss opportunities for deepening business interaction as Angola undertakes its “economic rebirth,” according to a tweet from the Embassy of Angola to the United States.
Ambassador Espírito Santo was heartened by today’s meeting with @ATLIntlAffairs and @ATLchamber and the discussion of the growing US-Angola trade and investment relationship. The continuation of a memorable and productive #MLK week visit. @VanessaIbarratl #USAngola #ATL pic.twitter.com/KwriOqVth8
Embassy of Angola in the US
According to the Mayor’s Office of International Affairs, which coordinated the ambassador’s visit, the meeting with the chamber’s Vice President for Global Commerce John Woodward included discussions on the “digital economy, trade and education.”
A country of 33 million, Angola sits on Africa’s southwestern coast, just north of Namibia. Its economy has been in recession during each of the last two years, including a 5.4 percent decline in 2020, a year marred by the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic and inflation eclipsing 20 percent. The International Monetary Fund projects Angola will spring back to 2.4 percent growth this year.
Ambassador Espírito Santo also visited The Carter Center to thank the Atlanta-based nonprofit for its work in the country.
On a lighter note, the city proclamation makes mention of the ties fostered by Bruno Fernando, who made Angola’s National Basketball Association debut with the Atlanta Hawks, contributing to their Eastern Conference Finals run in the 2020-21 season. He now plays for the Boston Celtics.
The ambassador is a career diplomat who arrived in the United States in 2019 after serving seven years as director for Africa, the Middle East and regional Organizations in Angola’s Ministry of External Relations. Before that, he was minister-counselor at the Angolan Embassy to France from 2004-09 and held the same position at the embassy in Mexico from 2002-04.
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