João Lourenço, who was speaking this Tuesday in Cairo, Egypt, where he began an official visit, said that Angola wants to strengthen cooperation with the Egyptian nation in several areas, namely in health, telecommunications, defense and security.
“The defense and security sector [in this cooperation] is not far behind. Egypt has great capabilities in terms of the defense industry and Angola is interested in benefiting from this capacity that Egypt has, not only to recover obsolete technology, modernize it and, eventually, sell new military equipment to the Army and the Air Force,” he said.
He stated that the authorities are open to discussions and negotiations so that the country can take steps forward in the security sector, praising the experience and success that Egypt has achieved in recent years in preventing and combating terrorism.
The head of state considered that Egypt had managed to “overcome and overcome with great skill” the period of instability it had experienced, expressing an interest in working with this country to learn and gather its experience on this issue [terrorism] that “potentially affects all countries in the world”.
“Those countries that have not been affected by terrorism, in principle, should not sit idly by, they should be prepared to face it, should it arise”, he noted.
Lourenço, who spoke after attending the signing of two memoranda on telecommunications and public works with his Egyptian counterpart, Abdel Fatah Al-Sisi, said that his visit to the Arab Republic of Egypt reflects the mutual interest in raising the level of bilateral relations to the “highest possible”.
“Our two countries are important, each in the region in which they are located. The potential for cooperation is great and we will do everything we can to try to exploit this potential to the fullest”, he stressed.
He expressed interest in increasing cooperation in all areas, and in seeing direct Egyptian private investment in Angola, as well as Angolan private investment in the Arab Republic of Egypt.
“We would like to see Egyptian companies participating in infrastructure construction projects in Angola, various infrastructures, roads, highways, ports, railways, electricity grids - especially power transmission networks - not only within our territory, but also to connect and sell energy to Angola's neighbouring countries, namely Zambia and Namibia”, he added.
Cooperation in the health sector, resulting in the establishment of the Egyptian pharmaceutical industry in Angola for the production of medicines and vaccines, is in the interests of both countries, as João Loureço said, also highlighting Egypt's strong potential in the field of telecommunications.
The President also said that both delegations agreed on the need to hold a bilateral joint commission as soon as possible, in order to “finally” begin implementing the signed agreements.
Angola and Egypt have established diplomatic relations since February 1976. Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi visited Angola in June 2023.
