Upon arrival at Orly Airport in the French capital, Sébastien Lécornu, French Minister of the Armed Forces, Téte António, Minister of Foreign Affairs, and Guilhermina Prata, Angolan Ambassador to France, were there to welcome the head of state.
The agenda of João Lourenço, who is accompanied by Ana Dias Lourenço, First Lady of the Republic, in Paris officially begins this Thursday, with the arrival of the presidential entourage at the Palais National des Invalides, which is one of the main monuments of the French capital and which houses the tomb of Napoleon Bonaparte, writes Angop.
The delegation of the President of the Republic will then head to the Élysée Palace, where they will meet with the French President, Emmanuel Macron, and then begin talks between the two delegations.
The visit's program also includes a meeting with the President of the French House of Law, Yael Braun-Pivet, on Thursday afternoon.
In the evening, João Lourenço will return to the Presidential Palace for an official dinner, thus ending the first day of the visit.
On Friday, the second and last day of the state visit, the head of state will attend the France-Angola Economic Forum, which aims to "explore possibilities for business, partnerships and other engagements".
Arlindo das Chagas Rangel, president of the Private Investment and Export Promotion Agency (AIPEX), reported that the economic forum will bring together 120 companies from both Angola and France.
According to the person in charge, quoted by Angop, businesspeople from various sectors will participate, with an emphasis on banking, agro-industry, agriculture, among others.
"Many French companies already work in Angola and are familiar with the country's business and investment environment, and we are counting on them to be our ambassadors to other interested parties," said Arlindo Rangel, adding that AIPEX is ready to provide all the information to potential investors who wish to invest in the country.
Friday also includes "visits to economic targets such as a waste energy recovery plant and the City of Science and Industry".
João Lourenço returns to the country next Saturday.
It should be remembered that this is not the first time that João Lourenço has traveled to this European country: in 2018 he made a state visit to France, and in 2021 he traveled to France to participate in the France-Africa Summit on financing African economies.
