The signing of the agreement is scheduled for this Wednesday, in a ceremony that will be presided over by José de Lima Massano, Minister of State for Economic Coordination.
The Government, in a statement to which VerAngola had access, informs that the future unit will not only produce medicines but also other pharmaceutical products.
"Angola will have a production unit for medicines and other pharmaceutical products, to be created through an agreement scheduled for this Wednesday, March 19, in Luanda, between the Private Investment and Export Promotion Agency (AIPEX) and the company EMS, S.A", reads the note.
Among the benefits expected from the materialization of this project are, for example, the reduction of costs for purchasing medicines, the strengthening of the Unified Health System, among others.
"It is expected that the materialization of the project will contribute to the strengthening of the National Health System, reduction of the costs of acquiring medicines, creation of qualified jobs and expansion of Angola's export capacity in the pharmaceutical sector", the statement points out.
According to the Government, the agreement "establishes a framework for institutional collaboration to evaluate mechanisms that can facilitate the use of industrial infrastructures already existing in the country, through appropriate legal frameworks".
EMS – a leading pharmaceutical company in South America, as well as one of the largest manufacturers of generic drugs in the world – has expressed interest in "establishing a production facility for medicines and pharmaceutical products in Angola, as part of a broader initiative to strengthen the pharmaceutical industry in the country".
Within the scope of this understanding, AIPEX guarantees "institutional facilitation and monitoring of the investment, working with the competent Executive bodies to ensure compliance with the regulatory and administrative requirements necessary to carry out the project".
"After carrying out economic and technical feasibility studies, EMS Angola will be formally constituted and will submit its investment proposal under the Private Investment Law," the statement reads.
The government says that this memorandum is part of its strategy to industrialize the health sector, with a view to reducing the country's "dependence on imported medicines, promoting technology transfer and creating local capacity for the production and distribution of pharmaceutical products."
Thus, "the signing of the agreement marks a strategic step in attracting foreign direct investment to the health sector, in line with the priorities defined in the National Development Plan 2023-2027 and the Executive's vision of diversifying the economy and strengthening the business environment".
