Lisbon, July 22, 2024 (Lusa) - Portugal's prime minister, Luís Montenegro, is this week to make an official visit to Angola with the aim of strengthening political, economic and cultural relations and with a view to making contacts between the two countries' government more regular and intense.
During the visit, which is to take place between Tuesday and Thursday, Montenegro is to endeavour to convey that the relationship with Angola "is an all-hours relationship," and independent of any political cycle in both countries, according to the prime minister's office.
On the trip, which is to take in Luanda and Benguela, the prime minister will be accompanied by his minister of state and finance, Joaquim Miranda Sarmento, and minister of economy, Pedro Reis, as well as the secretary of state for foreign affairs and cooperation, Nuno Sampaio (representing the minister, Paulo Rangel, who is in Rio de Janeiro for the G20 meeting), and the secretary of state for the treasury and finance, João Silva Lopes.
The invitation to Montenegro to visit Angola came in the first few weeks of his term in office earlier this year, and was publicly announced by President João Lourenço after a meeting between the two at Montenegro's official residence in Lisbon, a day after the Angolan head of state and government took part in the celebrations of the 50th anniversary of Portugal's 1974 Revolution on 25 April, at the invitation of Portugal's president, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa.
On that occasion, Lourenço declared that bilateral relations "are at their best" but added: "Although we have an obligation never to feel satisfied. We have to be ambitious enough to want more and more."
Montenegro said at the time that the intention of the right-of-centre coalition government that took office on 2 April was "to maintain this close relationship between governments in many areas, from culture to education, to economic relations," noting that there are already "many Portuguese companies operating in priority, strategic areas in Angola, such as the agri-food sector, textiles, pharmaceuticals, tourism, construction, renewable energies or technological areas."
The prime minister also said that his government has "every interest" in consolidating positions not only bilaterally, "but also multilaterally" within the framework of Angola's relationship with the European Union, the Community of Portuguese Language Countries (CPLP - of which both are members), the United Nations and the G20, since both countries were invited by Brazil as observer members this year.
The highlight of the prime minister's official visit to Angola, on the first day, will be a meeting with Lourenço, after which various legal documents are to be signed that have not yet been made public.
On an economic level, the Portuguese government intends to diversify its bilateral relations with Angola, and more than a hundred Portuguese businesspeople are expected to take part in the Luanda International Fair (FILDA), which is taking place during the prime minister's official visit.
Visits to the Portuguese School in Luanda on Tuesday and to the future premises of Portugal's Consulate General in Benguela on Thursday are a sign of the priority the government intends to give to issues such as education and the movement of people.
In June, the minister of state and foreign affairs, Paulo Rangel, said in Luanda that Portugal wanted to speed up visa processing, by sending 45 specialists to consular posts identified as priorities. He pointed out that the number of visas granted by Portugal to Angolan citizens increased by 43% in 2023, from 42,000 to 57,000.
On this occasion, the minister was asked about the issue of Portugal's reparations to former colonies, stating that what is at stake is creating a good relationship and healing the wounds of history, "which always exist" - promoting reconciliation and taking advantage of past mistakes in a pedagogical way.
When he was in Lisbon to take part in the session commemorating the 50th anniversary of the 1974 Revolution, the president of Angola argued that the challenge facing the former colonies today is "consolidating democracy, diversifying and strengthening" their economies.
"We were able to overcome the challenge of our existence as free and sovereign nations, to establish peace and reconciliation between us, and today we are committed to the economic and social development of our countries," he said.
SMA/ARO // ARO.
Lusa
