João Lourenço wants to establish a strategic partnership with Spain

At a lunch where he was invited by the King of Spain, João Lourenço assured that he intends "with this visit to establish a true strategic partnership" with Spain, "strengthening the bonds of friendship and cooperation in important areas" of the Angolan economy.

The head of state then made a point of "highlighting" the sectors in which he would like to focus this "strategic partnership", referring to "politics, education, agriculture, energy, construction, fisheries, health, defense and security and other domains".

In his speech before lunch, on the first day of his official visit to Spain, João Lourenço considered that this country is "one of the most important economies in the European Union", counting on him to "Angola return to the path of growth and development " caught by the crisis caused by covid-19.

The President assured that his country has lived for "almost 20 years" a situation of "effective, lasting and irreversible peace" and that in recent years he has made "efforts to create mechanisms to encourage foreign entrepreneurs" to invest in various economic sectors.

"The Angolan market is open to a greater presence of Spanish businessmen and businessmen so that we can build a base of mutually beneficial cooperation for our two peoples and countries," said João Lourenço.

At the end of the speech, the head of state again insisted on the "need to establish a strategic partnership" that goes beyond the merely economic and business sphere.

"I would like to count on your country to mobilize financing and investors from Europe interested in investing in Angola," stated João Lourenço.

Before lunch, which was also attended by the Spanish Prime Minister, Pedro Sánchez, the President also mentioned that access to the vaccine against covid-19 should be universal and accessible to all countries.

For his part, the King of Spain assured that Spain will be on the side of Angola, as well as Spanish companies.

"Angola is a priority country for Spain," said Felipe VI, adding that this means that "Angola occupies a place of utmost importance when it comes to establishing" relations with other countries.

The Spanish head of state also recalled that "Spain always welcomes Angolans as part of the world of Iberophony" to which "all those who speak Spanish and Portuguese belong".

In the afternoon, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez received João Lourenço at 17:00 (16:00 Luanda time) at Moncloa Palace, the seat of the Government.

According to the agenda, the President of the Republic ends his visit to Spain on Wednesday, the day he plans to visit "infrastructure and institutional objectives in the Spanish capital".