Africa-Press – Angola. The political relations between the country and the Kingdom of Belgium are considered solid and with good growth opportunities, as in the expansion in several areas of cooperation, with the migratory movement in both directions encouraging the reinforcement of the frequency of flights on the Brussels/Luanda route. , considered the Belgian ambassador to Angola.
Jozef Smets spoke about the political/diplomatic relations maintained with the country, when he made an assessment of the political stage of African countries, mainly francophone ones, having underlined that Angola plays an important role in the stability and growth in Africa, with the political ties properly structured and with strong possibilities for consolidation.
The Belgian ambassador, who made these remarks during an exclusive interview, on the occasion of the World Day of Celebration of the Francophonie- March 20, announced that the Belgian airline Brussels Airlines will increase the frequency of weekly flights from two to three. on the Brussels/Luanda route within a short time. “Soon, the date for the start of another weekly flight will be officially announced”, assured the diplomat, noting that bilateral negotiations for this purpose are well advanced.
Jozef Smets said that, in this period when the Covid-19 pandemic has lessened its threat in the world, more and more Angolans travel to Belgium, which can be seen by the volume of visa requests at that embassy, in Luanda. Likewise, he said, some businessmen are arriving from that western European country, making known the presence in Angola, recently, of a group of Belgian investors linked to the diamond sector.
“There are also close to three hundred citizens of Belgian nationality who reside permanently here in Angola, present in various sectors, and who often visit their country of origin or receive their family members here”, he said, defending the need to increase flights between the two countries. with a view to intensifying trade relations and beyond.
The ambassador of the Kingdom of Belgium in Angola also spoke about the migratory situation in his country, revealing that 2021 was the year in which fewer people were registered – around 20 thousand – who arrived in Belgium with asylum requests, of which more than 10 thousand have been accepted and the others are waiting for an opportunity.
“We had fewer orders due to the Covid-19 crisis, but even so, last year we included more than 10,000 people who arrived from various countries in the world, especially from the African and Asian continents, including the Middle East”, he said, referring that this it is a great challenge for a small country with a territory almost the size of the province of Bengo, with close to 12 million inhabitants.
Jozef Smets said that the situation of immigrants in his country and across Europe is becoming more complicated every year, noting that with the “Russian invasion of Ukraine”, thousands of people are arriving in Belgium, which is why new villages will be created. to host those refugees.
“It is always a challenge, but we have to maintain this policy that allows people who are in a situation of persecution or who have no future in their countries for political reasons to apply for asylum in our country”, he said. Josef Smets said that there are a large number of immigrant citizens who chose to live in Belgium for normal reasons, acquiring Belgian nationality, and who are inserted in the country’s political, economic and social life. “We have several ministers, mayors and other important political figures of African origin, for example”, said, referring that tolerance depends on the educational component.
“The vast majority of the population is already completely comfortable with this reality, but we also recommend that people who come to our country learn our languages and accept to live with our values of democracy and tolerance, in general”.
Located in western Europe, the Kingdom of Belgium has three official languages, Dutch (the most widely spoken), French and German, the latter with a smaller community of speakers. the diploma Josef Smets highlights that in Angola, the Embassy of the Kingdom of Belgium celebrates the month of Francophonie this week with some political and cultural activities.
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