"Europe can count on Angola as an important supplier not only of gas but also of green hydrogen", said the head of state, in an interview with Euronews.
Questioned about the fact that Angola will become an alternative for Europe that is looking for replacements to Russian gas, the President said that "Angola is an alternative".
"Angola is an alternative. Angola, at the moment, produces more oil than gas, although we have some gas. "But we constituted a new consortium for the production of gas. Therefore, several multinationals, in consortium, will start to explore more gas in Angola, there are identified reserves", he said, speaking to Euronews.
The head of state also referred that "gas in Angola did not develop much, because there was a lack of legislation", adding that the country "did not have specific legislation for gas, focused on gas, and this inhibited, in some way, the multinationals".
However, he referred that this situation "has been outdated since 2017", believing that "the production of natural gas, not associated gas, in Angola will experience a boom in the coming years and, therefore, from then on, Europe can counting on Angola as an important supplier not only of gas but also of green hydrogen".
"We are already making contacts with some European countries for the production of green hydrogen", he added, quoted by Euronews.
With regard to the diversification of the economy, the President of the Republic said that they were on the right path: "We are fine, we are fine. Therefore, the non-oil sector of our economy is experiencing growth, shall we say, satisfactory. And we will continue on this path. But it will it will take some time for, say, oil revenues to recede into the background. Therefore, today they are still the most significant, but the trend is reversing. The turning point will come when the national GDP will be constituted, especially , by revenues from the non-oil sector".
In the interview with Euronews, the head of state also addresses the war in Ukraine and its impact on the African continent.
"Africa is not an isolated island in the world. We live in a globalized world, with a very great interdependence between nations. Therefore, the economic crisis, the energy crisis, the security crisis that this war in Ukraine has caused affects all countries in the world, without exception, and perhaps the African continent more, because we have more vulnerabilities", he told Euronews.
Among other subjects, the head of state also spoke about the creation of municipalities. João Lourenço said that the creation of autarchy does not deal with an electoral "promise issue", but rather with a decision.
"No, it's not electoral, it's a decision. We presented this issue of municipalities, right after the beginning of my first term. Therefore, I came to the Presidency of the Republic of Angola in 2017 and, if I'm not mistaken, it was in 2018 or 2019, I'm not quite sure, that at a meeting of the Council of the Republic and, on our initiative, mine, we talked about the possibility of organizing local elections. And this is all a process, it's a process", he pointed out, adding that " there have never been municipal elections in Angola. It will be the first time. When will they happen? I don't know, but they will have to happen, necessarily ".
The head of state also told Euronews that "in order for local elections to take place there must be legal support".
"We are in a Democratic State of Law. Everything has to have legal support. The specialists defined a set of more than ten municipal laws and most of them have already been approved by the National Assembly, with the exception, I believe, of a fundamental one. There will be more than one missing, but one that is fundamental is missing, which is the definition of timing for the holding of these same elections", he indicated.
"That is, there are two different positions. There are those who think that, for the first time, the country should hold local elections in all municipalities in the country. This is a position. And there are those who are more cautious, I wouldn't say more conservative, but more prudent, and consider that, as it is a new experience, it would be, let's say, a shot in the dark, starting with all the municipalities in the country. They think this could be done in stages. When this dispute is overcome, between political forces, the law is approved and from then on the head of state will be in a position to create the conditions to call the municipal elections", completed João Lourenço, quoted by Euronews.
