"We welcome the announcement made yesterday about the peace agreement reached between Israel and Hamas, which will put an end to the suffering of the Palestinian people who inhabit that part of the Palestinian territory," said João Lourenço, in statements at the Elysee Palace, in Paris, where he is on a two-day state visit at the invitation of his French counterpart, Emmanuel Macron.
According to the head of state, the agreement will also allow for "greater intervention in terms of humanitarian aid", as well as making it possible to rebuild that territory.
"It will allow for greater intervention in terms of humanitarian aid to reduce the suffering of those people; it will allow, when the time comes to begin the reconstruction of that strip of territory, the reconstruction of Gaza; it will allow for the release of the hostages who are being held in the hands of Hamas, as well as the release of Palestinian prisoners from Hamas who are in Israeli prisons," he said.
He therefore welcomed the agreement, but said it was important to create the State of Palestine: "Therefore, we welcome this agreement reached after months of negotiations, but we consider it important not to forget the need to remind everyone, Israelis, Palestinians, the community internationally, the need to create the State of Palestine, the only way, in our understanding, to put an end to this conflict that, unfortunately, has been going on for many years."
It is worth noting that Israel and Hamas reached an agreement for a ceasefire in Gaza, which comes into effect on Sunday.
In his speech, released by the Presidency of the Republic and to which VerAngola had access, the President of the Republic also spoke "of conflicts throughout the world", such as the "conflict between the Democratic Republic of Congo and the Republic of Rwanda, in which Angola is playing the role of mediator, making an effort" to see if it can "end this conflict that has lasted decades", the situation in Sudan, the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, among others.
Leaving conflicts aside, João Lourenço spoke about the mutual investment between Angola and France.
"Regarding bilateral issues, without wanting to be too exhaustive, I would like to say that we express the common interest in strengthening ties of friendship and cooperation in practically all areas of the economies of our two countries," he said.
Among other aspects, he also said that the interest is reciprocal: "The interest is reciprocal. The French are interested in continuing to invest in Angola, in the same way that we, to the extent of our capabilities, will do here in French territory."