The President of the Government of Spain, Pedro Sánchez, considered Angola a "very important" market for his country, with which he maintains "excellent" relations, when he spoke this Thursday morning at the closing of the Angola / Spain Business Forum, the the first point on the work agenda that it does in the country.
"For the Government of Spain, Angola is a friendly country, with which we collaborate and support, so we trust that the Government of Angola can boost the economic development it needs and can count on its development with the support of Spanish companies", referred.
The Spanish leader, who is making a one-day visit to Luanda, recalled that Spanish companies have been in Angola since their independence, supporting their development with the construction of infrastructures.
According to the President of the Spanish Government, Angola is a country of "great opportunities", which can be used by Spanish companies.
"The data from our trade shows the importance of the relations between the two countries," he said, noting that the average of Spanish exports, in the last 7 years until 2015, was 236 million euros, reaching in some years the 500 million euros .
The Angolan part in that period exported to Spain an average of 1352 million euros annually, surpassing the bulk by 2700 million euros in 2014.
The Spanish official stressed that the current economic situation in Angola is more complex, which had an impact on the economic exchanges between the two countries, however the African country is Spain's third supplier in sub-Saharan Africa.
The bulk of Spanish imports from Angola, continued Pedro Sánchez, are energy products, especially oil, hailing the Angolan Government's "very important" bet on diversifying its economy and reducing its dependence on oil.
Pedro Sánchez underlined the capacity and willingness of Spanish companies to support the Government of Angola's effort, expressing Spain's desire to recover the dynamism of bilateral exchanges, to stimulate and strengthen the pace of economic objectives.
"The Government of Spain supports Angola at all times and in this context marked by the pandemic we are also going to do it", said the Spanish government official.
According to the President of the Government of Spain, Spanish companies will be encouraged to invest in their internationalization in the national market.
"In the nearly 35 years that Spain has been supporting Angola with bilateral financing, Spanish companies participate in the development of the country in those sectors in which they are an international reference, specifically in construction, electrification, health, fishing, education, information technologies and also in the sector in the banking sector, however, challenges remain, "he said.
Spain recognizes the "enormous effort" that Angola is making in this new stage led by the President of the Republic, João Lourenço, who opted for an economic policy geared towards the balance of public accounts and transparency.
"The agreement with the International Monetary Fund and the rest of the international community, including Spain, will not be delayed and I am convinced that this effort will result in better access to finance and a greater attraction of investments on the part of Angola", said.
Spain will continue to provide financial support, with different public instruments at its fingertips, he added.
After this forum, Sánchez went to the Presidential Palace for a meeting with President João Lourenço.
