According to a statement from Africell, to which VerAngola had access, during his time at Africell, the US Secretary of State held meetings with "representatives of other American companies operating in Angola, including companies in the technology, energy, goods consumption and others".
In addition, he was also shown the Africell data center, "which is an anomaly among telecommunications networks in Africa as it was built entirely with secure technology", as well as passing through 10A, "a high-tech and art space dedicated to Angolan creativity and cultural collaboration, created by the Africell Impact Foundation".
Quoted in the statement, Ziad Dalloul, CEO, president and founder of Africell, said it was "an honor for Africell to have hosted Secretary Blinken."
"Angola is an appealing place to do business, which is why we have invested in building a reliable and secure mobile telecommunications network. Secretary Blinken's visit proves that the US government has an equally positive view of Angola's potential, and that of others countries that make up the Lobito Corridor region. We hope that Africell's success in Angola will inspire other US and international companies to invest here under the auspices of the US Government initiative known as the Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investment (PGII), and not only", he added.
Jorge Vasquez, CEO of Africell Angola, speaking on the occasion, said that the company is already present in several provinces, and is working to bring its services to four or five others.
"We are currently already in several provinces. We have a portfolio of four/five more provinces where we are already advanced in the work (...) of our network, therefore, we like to take these steps in a sustained way. In parallel, they are taking place several other projects, such as the Lobito Corridor, partnerships with Grupo Carrinho, which aim to increase and promote distribution, national production and for this technology is necessary", he stated, quoted by Televisão Pública de Angola (TPA).
In addition to strengthening telecommunications services, the operator has also been contributing to strengthening the employment outlook. "In the last month, as we moved forward with all these partnerships, we mobilized another 500 people exclusively to support the distribution of mobile financial services, if we add to that another around 500 full-time jobs and then with all the subcontracting we are already talking about a few thousand workers", said the person in charge.
"Today we have this evidence here, we have several international investors, projects of an international nature, large capitals being brought to the country, jobs being created (...). Angola over time has diversified its foreign investment partners and has taken solid steps that produce results", he added.
The operator has been present in the Angolan market for approximately two years and, according to TPA, has since made progress with an investment of more than 300 million dollars.
It is recalled that during his visit to Angola, Blinken also met with the President of the Republic, João Lourenço, and with the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Téte António.
