Luanda, Nov. 28, 2024 (Lusa) - France has invested a total of €18 billion in Angola this year, making it the leading foreign investor in the country, the European country's ambassador to Angola, Sophie Aubert, has said.
Sophie Aubert was speaking on Wednesday at the opening of a forum organised by Business France as part of a French business mission in the port, logistics and maritime sector, which began on Tuesday and runs until Friday, to explore the market.
The French diplomat considered this mission to be very important, as it aims to offer a better understanding of Angola as a country and also of its economic sector, to French partners, some of whom are visiting the African country for the first time.
According to Sophie Aubert, France is the number one foreign investor in Angola and, as a whole, French companies are the third largest foreign employer in the country, emphasising that the activities of around 130 companies, 60 of which are established in the country, represent a total of €6 billion every year.
Sophie Aubert also emphasised that France was Angola's second trading partner in sub-Saharan Africa in 2022 and the leading supplier of wheat to the Portuguese-speaking country in 2023.
The French ambassador to Angola said that the French Public Investment Bank had mobilised guarantees for Angola of €1.85 billion, adding that two private banks have credit lines open for Angola of €500 million each, with a third planned.
The French Development Agency (AFD) has €700 million available for loans and subsidies, the French diplomat emphasised.
"Our French team is working to facilitate this dynamic I've just described. For example, Business France is here to boost economic relations, through the missions we organise here and in France," said Sophie Aubert, stressing that "there is real confidence from the French economic sectors in Angola".
Through these missions, the ambassador emphasised, France intends to support Angola with economic partnerships and intensify economic relations between the two countries, also stressing that the French government intends to accompany the structuring of markets and the Angolan economy, through regional or global integration.
In October, Angola officially became an observer member of the International Organisation of La Francophonie (OIF), during the 19th Summit of member countries, after five years of presenting its candidacy.
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