"What we want from Egyptian investors is for them to look at Angola as a great business opportunity, not only in the agriculture sector, where we have abundant arable land, water, good climate, a country where there is no winter, so they can develop agriculture for domestic consumption, but also for export," he said.
The head of state said that investors are free to invest wherever they "deem fit", pointing to the vast "range of opportunities" that the country offers.
"Investors are free to choose what they want to do, according to the feasibility studies that their companies carry out. They have complete freedom to invest wherever they see fit. The range of opportunities is quite vast, it is quite large, from agriculture, not just agriculture, to fishing, industry in general, not just the extractive industry," he said, adding: "We have diverse mineral resources that may interest you. Angola is a country with great dormant tourism potential and, because it is dormant, this may be an opportunity for the first to arrive to gain an advantage over the others in the development of tourism."
In his long speech to businesspeople, the President of the Republic considered the meeting an opportunity to raise awareness of Angola.
"This meeting is an opportunity to get to know the Angola of today and the Angola that we want to see in the near future. We want to see a developed Angola, but for that to happen, the private sector must play its role," he said.
"Egyptian investors are invited to be part of this great challenge of transforming Angola, ensuring that Angola can also achieve the growth rate that Egypt has managed to achieve in recent years," he added.
According to a statement from CIPRA, to which VerAngola had access, this meeting allowed the President of the Republic to "transmit, in person, what Angola has in terms of economic potential and possibilities for advantageous business, especially in areas outside the oil sector, but focused essentially on agriculture, construction of infrastructure, pharmaceutical industry, tourism, energy, water and health, among others".
In his dialogue with Egyptian businessmen, "all of them giants in their fields, representing companies with a presence in dozens of countries", the head of state also highlighted the development of that country: "There are few countries in the world that can, in such a short time, build 24 cities. This demonstrates capacity".
João Lourenço also stated that "Egypt's rapid and consistent development must be shown to the world, to counter the idea that Africa is only a place of hunger, backwardness, misery and misfortune".
"A large number of the businessmen who participated in the meeting with the President of the Republic expressed a keen interest in investing in our country, with many of them having already initiated contacts with Angolan entities and, in some cases, even visited Angola," the note also reads.
João Lourenço in audience with companies doing business in Angola
Also on Wednesday, the President of the Republic also held meetings with companies doing business in Angola.
"Following the meeting with Egyptian business leaders, President João Lourenço granted audiences to two businessmen", namely Ahmed Elsewedy, president and CEO of Elsewedy Electric, and Ahmed Mostafa El Assar, president of Arab Contractor, points out CIPRA, in another statement to which VerAngola had access.
"Elsewedy Electric, which has invested in Angola in the electricity sector for 20 years, in Luanda alone, intends to increase its business in other parts of the country, namely in the generation, transmission and distribution of energy", reads the note, which adds that "The Arab Contractor has operated in Angola for more than 15 years and intends to return to the national market with a new look", and that "for this reason, last year, it created a company in the country for the energy sector, and also intends to establish partnerships in different areas".
"Present in 38 African countries, the company works in several business areas, with partnership contracts with investors in energy, health and infrastructure, treatment, sanitation and water desalination", adds CIPRA.
