Africa-Press – Angola. Angolan President João Lourenço ended his official visit to the People’s Republic of China this Sunday, marked by the signing of agreements and the renegotiation of Angola’s debt to the Asian country.
João Lourenço has already left the Chinese capital, Beijing, after three days of intense political, economic and diplomatic activity, which opened a new era in bilateral cooperation and strategic partnership between the two States.
The Angolan Head of State, who left China satisfied with the results of his visit, was seen off at Beijing International Airport by Chinese authorities and the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Téte António.
On the occasion, the head of Angolan diplomacy stated that the visit was very positive and the objectives were achieved.
During his stay in China, João Lourenço held high-level meetings with his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, and the Prime Minister, Li Qiang, in addition to a courtesy meeting with the chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress ( Parliament), Zhao Laji.
The first day of the agenda was also filled with an intense day of audiences with businessmen from China, who presented the status of several projects underway in Angola, especially the Caculo Cabaça Dam and the new Luanda International Airport.
Throughout his visit, the President of the Republic discussed with the Chinese authorities and private investors the various modalities of financing new projects in Angola, in different sectors, with emphasis on agriculture, fisheries, oil refining, telecommunications and technology. information, health and infrastructures.
In the meeting with his counterpart Xi Jinping, he emphasized the issue of renegotiating Angola’s debt to China, set at around 17 billion US dollars.
He detailed that, of this amount, around 12 billion US dollars were contracted from the Chinese Development Bank CDB and EximBank, with oil collateral and reimbursement clauses that burden our debt service.
The Angolan leader assured that Angola and China reached understandings on relief measures to continue meeting debt service.
He stated, however, that the agreements reached in relation to the renegotiation of Angola’s debt should not represent losses for the creditor entity.
President João Lourenço maintained that “relief measures that do not harm the interests of either party” were found.
Still in the meeting with President Xi Jinping, he requested China’s support to help Angola get out of the suffocation situation in which it finds itself, and invited his counterpart to visit the country, an invitation already accepted by the Chinese leader.
At the end of the meeting, the two presidents witnessed the signing of 12 legal instruments to strengthen cooperation, in sectors such as trade, agriculture, sustainable development and digital infrastructures.
Business forum
Another milestone on President João Lourenço’s work agenda was participation in the Angola-China Business Forum, which was attended by more than 1,300 companies, 30 of which were Angolan.
When speaking at the meeting, the Angolan statesman invited Chinese businesspeople to invest in the Lobito Corridor, Benguela province, in the production of food goods, including cereals and grains, sugar, livestock and fisheries.
He also pointed out the battery production industry for the manufacture of electrically powered cars, photovoltaic panels for solar energy, tourism and other sectors of the economy, as areas to be counted.
He also invited Chinese businesspeople to invest in certified medicine and vaccine production factories, whose main client will be the Angolan State, to feed the National Health System.
On the other hand, he said that Angola intends to attract Chinese investors who bring, in addition to financial capital and advanced technology, “know-how”, to increase efficiency in the internal production of goods and services.
The President of the Republic also held a meeting with the Angolan community, which served to talk about their reality and convey the advances made in Angola, in various areas, in the last eight years.
Shandong
The last day of the official visit was marked by a trip to Shandong province, more than 400 kilometers from Beijing, where President João Lourenço visited several companies, such as Xinhua Medical Instrumentos co.LTd, which produces medical devices and pharmaceutical equipment.
The President of Angola was also at the Academy of Agricultural Sciences, aiming to find solutions adaptable to the reality of Angola that can boost agriculture.
He also visited the edible mushroom cultivation base of Qihe Biotech, a national high-tech company, which deals with research, development, production and sales and export, in addition to technological demonstration.
Likewise, he made contact with the Lutai Group, which is a clothing supplier with cutting-edge fabrics, currently considered the largest producer of high-quality dyed fabrics in the world, especially shirts.
Shandong is a populous province, with a resident population of around 102 million people. It is the second largest in terms of population, behind only Guangdong.
It is one of the most developed in all of China, with a Gross Domestic Product estimated at more than a trillion dollars. With a population of 102 million people, it is the territory where the great Chinese thinker Confucius was born.
At the end of the work, the President of the Republic gave an interview to a local media outlet, which served to address the results of the visit and talk about other aspects related to bilateral cooperation, the reality of Angola and global geopolitics.
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