At the hearing, which took place on the sidelines of participation in the Mining Indaba, the two government officials spoke about the "possibility of increasing cooperation in the field of diamond exploration and mining, seeking a common position in relation to the certification of rough diamonds, taking into account the position of the G7, and also the possibility of Botswana becoming a shareholder in the Lobito Refinery", says a statement from the Ministry of Mineral Resources, Oil and Gas, to which VerAngola had access.
Speaking at the end of the meeting, Diamantino Azevedo said they discussed aspects related to bilateral cooperation between the two countries in terms of the extractive industry.
After presenting the Lobito Refinery project, "we analyzed the possibility of cooperation in terms of petroleum activity, essentially in the field of refining, and we also talked about cooperation in terms of the diamond industry, given that the two countries are among the largest diamond producers in the world", he said, quoted in the note.
According to the holder of the Mineral Resources, Oil and Gas portfolio, there may be greater cooperation between Angola and Botswana, having suggested to his counterpart "cooperation at a business level (Endiama and its counterpart in Botswana) and looking together, with greater attention, to the G7 group's current proposal regarding sanctions on Russian diamonds which, if implemented as planned, will also affect the diamond industry" in both countries.
Diamantino Azevedo also made it known that the two countries will work together to make their voices "heard" and to be able to "prevent these measures from affecting" their "activity in the diamond industry".
"Still on the Kimberley Process, the minister said that he also held a meeting with those responsible for this international diamond certification mechanism, having discussed with them, vis-vis, all issues related to the certification system, regarding the current situation of sanctions of the G7 group in relation to Russian diamonds and the Russian diamond company", the statement read.
As for large and medium-sized mining companies, the minister, who at the 'Angolan Mineral Business Forum', held on Tuesday, called on them to "go to Angola", said that he received, after the event and in the meetings held, "promises of large and medium-sized companies".
So, he said it was now a matter of continuing to work. "Now it's all a matter of continuing to work. It's a process that takes time, because when these companies go to a country, they do a very in-depth analysis, both of the geological potential, the geological infrastructure, the business environment, legislation, contractual stability, other issues", he stated.
"Angola will continue on this path of showing the investors that we intend to attract to the country that we have political stability, geological potential and mining activity outside of diamonds and oil and, above all, we have contractual stability", he added.
