"It's good that this is happening [direct flights between Luanda and Equatorial Guinea], we'll leave it to the ministers, the green light is on so that they can develop all possibilities for cooperation in this area of aeronautics", João Lourenço responded to journalists.
Angola and Equatorial Guinea signed three legal instruments on Tuesday in the areas of agriculture, livestock and forestry, language and administrative training for Equatorial Guinean officials and technical cooperation in aeronautics.
Speaking at a press conference, as part of the 48-hour state visit that the President of Equatorial Guinea, Teodoro Obiang Nguema, is making to Angola, João Lourenço said that there is a major deficit in air, road and rail links between the African countries.
Teodoro Obiang Nguema also highlighted the importance of the agreements signed this Tuesday with Angola, pointing out the need for their materialization, as he believes that all the protocols signed "can be easily implemented".
Angola, "as a sister country, relies on the company TAAG, which is operating services from Angola to Lisbon and other countries, and Equatorial Guinea believes that it is possible to have this connection in the region with flights to Guinea-Bissau, Cape Verde and Lisbon", he said.
According to the Equatorial-Guinean head of state, there is widespread "suffering" in air connections in Africa and a connection between Luanda and Malabo should alleviate the stopovers that are made, for example, on a trip from Equatorial Guinea to Angola, countries that are part of the Community of Portuguese-Speaking Countries.
Nguema also highlighted the importance of the agreement reached in the agriculture, livestock and forestry sectors, considering that Angola has experience in agriculture.
"We believe that we can follow the same agricultural dynamic as Angola", he pointed out.
For the Head of State, João Lourenço, who recently chaired an African Union summit in Uganda focused on agriculture, agriculture is "without a shadow of a doubt" the main driver of the economies of African countries.
"It is clear that we aspire to take the next step towards becoming industrialized countries one day, but in the meantime we need to strengthen our agriculture and livestock farming, especially by transforming local products, adding value and creating jobs, so that these products reach the table with better quality and that we can export them at much more competitive prices", he stressed.
