Approximately 120 companies from Angola and France are gathered in this forum, with the aim of "exploring business possibilities, partnerships and other engagements".
According to Angop, businesspeople from various sectors are participating, with an emphasis on banking, agriculture, agro-industry, among others.
Held as part of João Lourenço's visit to the European country, the forum is a joint initiative of the Private Investment and Export Promotion Agency (AIPEX) and the French Business Movement.
The head of state arrived in France on Wednesday, having begun his two-day state visit on Thursday.
The first day of the visit was marked by a meeting between João Lourenço and his French counterpart, Emmanuel Macron, as well as a meeting with the president of the French parliament, Yael Braun-Pivet.
Another highlight of Thursday was the State dinner, which took place at the Élysée Palace. "It was to the rhythm of kizomba, C4 Pedro and Bonga, among other leading names in musical art such as Charles Aznavour and Edit Piaf, that the State dinner offered by the couple Emmanuel and Brigitte Macron, President of the French Republic and First Lady, was served, in honor of President João Lourenço and the First Lady of Angola, Ana Dias Lourenço, on a visit to France", reads a note from CIPRA, to which VerAngola had access.
The dinner was marked by speeches from both Presidents. On the occasion, João Lourenço said he viewed "with good eyes" the creation of an Angola-France Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
"(...) Angola would welcome the initiative to create an Angola-France Chamber of Commerce and Industry, so that this platform can serve as a basis for facilitating business and contacts between Angolan and French businesspeople," he said, during dinner.
In his speech, released by CIPRA and to which VerAngola had access, the President of the Republic highlighted "the fact that the business environment in the Republic of Angola is quite favorable to foreign private investment in all areas of the national economy", having challenged French businessmen looking at the Angolan market.
"Considering the enormous potential that exists in my country, in the areas of agriculture, energy and water, prospecting and exploration of mineral resources, industry in general, the agri-food industry and others, I would like to launch to the businesspeople from the French Republic are challenged to look at the Angolan market and evaluate the possibilities it offers for conducting business with good results", he pointed out.
In his speech, João Lourenço also spoke about relations between Angola and France, recalling that this is his second state visit to France, "which occurs about two years after the visit" that Macron made to Angola, "reflecting the mutual importance" that they attribute to the relationship between the two countries.
Thursday, he added, allowed them to make "an exhaustive and largely positive assessment" of bilateral cooperation, adding: "We aligned our visions regarding the priority projects underway and set goals for increasing existing partnerships, in order to make them increasingly beneficial, thus corresponding to the real potential of both parties and their respective interests".
In addition to Angola-France cooperation, João Lourenço's speech also addressed the "problems that currently disturb peace and security in various parts" of the world.
