"A memorandum of understanding was negotiated some time ago in the digital area, more specifically electronic governance, which will now be signed during the visit of President Alar Karis. But we intend, after this memorandum of understanding, both parties, Angola and the Republic of Estonia, to identify areas of cooperation that are of common interest for us to develop, in addition to electronic governance", stated the President of the Republic.
João Lourenço – speaking to the press after an audience with Alar Karis – also said he believes that the potential for cooperation between Angola and Estonia is "great".
"The potential for cooperation between the two countries is great. As we know, Estonia is a country that, after joining the European Union, made very significant leaps, standing out in many areas, including in the field of electronic governance, so we want to make the most of this potential between our two countries", he pointed out.
Regarding the visit of his Estonian counterpart, Alar Karis, to Angola, the head of state indicated that this is aimed at strengthening the "ties of friendship and cooperation between Angola and Estonia".
In his intervention, João Lourenço also expressed "best wishes" to the Estonian president and delegation during their visit to Angolan soil, having also reiterated the desire to bring the two countries closer together.
"Once again, we would like, on behalf of ourselves and the Government that I head, to wish President Alar Karis and the delegation that accompanies him, a very warm welcome and best wishes for a good stay while they are in Angola and reaffirm that our intention and desire we need to see our countries closer together, which will eventually happen, even judging by the identity of points of view in relation to a set of issues, especially in the international arena", stated João Lourenço.
The president of Estonia also spoke to the press microphones. "It is an honor to be able to make this visit to your country, which is my first visit to Africa, as President of the Republic of Estonia", he began by saying, having also congratulated João Lourenço on his recent birthday, celebrated on March 5.
"Despite our geographical distance between Angola and Estonia, the two countries share a lot in common, the dependence of both countries on the ocean which makes us increasingly identical. Angola is bathed by the Atlantic Ocean, which is abundant in marine resources which are an important source of economy and, our country Estonia, bathed by the Baltic Sea, which is a gateway for international trade, to Europe", said Alar Karis.
He explained that during the visit to Estonia by the Minister of State, Adão de Almeida, in April 2023, "the memorandum of understanding was signed which aimed to share experience in the digital area".
"We believe that, working together, this memorandum will create space for more investments and also to work in a more transparent way", he stated, adding: "After the visit of the Minister of State, the reopening of our honorary consulate in Angola. Everything happened in August 2023."
He also highlighted the fact that next Sunday will mark 27 years of bilateral cooperation and that the next step is to "solidify the fruitful cooperation between two States".
"The purpose of my visit is to demonstrate our desire to continue working more and more firmly to strengthen cooperation between the two countries. And I believe that communication with our friends, with whom we are geographically distant, is a very important step because it allows us to get to know each other, strengthen our ties and we can also work in a coordinated way for our process", said the president of Estonia, adding that he brought to Angola "entrepreneurs in the digital area and the objective is share knowledge and expertise in these matters".
