João Lourenço spoke this Monday at the meeting he had with his counterpart from São Tomé and Príncipe, Carlos Vila Nova, as part of the state visit he is making to Angola from Sunday to Wednesday.
According to the head of state, within the framework of the strategic partnership that the two countries intend to implement, they highlight the need to exploit "to the fullest the great potential existing in the sectors of defense and security, fisheries and sea, tourism, interior and internal order, air transport and maritime, mineral resources and petroleum and that of commerce".
"As for direct private investment, it will be important that, in a coordinated way, we work on the creation of adequate mechanisms and incentives that encourage and stimulate the movement of businessmen, companies and traders from Angola to São Tomé and Príncipe and vice versa, which augurs, in the near future, achievements and undertakings of significant value for our respective economies, for the benefits that will result in terms of economic growth and the consequent creation of jobs", he stressed.
João Lourenço highlighted the need to urgently create material conditions to make trade between the two countries viable, in order to meet the fundamental needs in terms of products widely consumed in each of the countries, with significantly lower, competitive costs and guarantees. of an acceptable level of quality.
The head of state also highlighted the recent signing between the governments of the two countries of the agreement on the exemption of visas in diplomatic, service, special and ordinary passports, "which will certainly serve as a lever for closer relations of friendship and cooperation between our two countries".
João Lourenço stressed that the bilateral cooperation relationship between the Republic of Angola and the Republic of São Tomé and Príncipe has its legal framework based on the General Agreement of Friendship and Cooperation, signed on 19 February 1978.
According to João Lourenço, "the signing of this agreement was an important milestone, since from there a wide number of legal instruments were signed in the most varied sectors of the national life of the two countries and other important commitments were adopted, aiming to promote and deepen relations of economic, scientific, technical and cultural cooperation between the two States".
"However, I must recognize that, despite the most varied agreements, memoranda and protocols signed so far between the Republic of Angola and the Democratic Republic of São Tomé and Príncipe, the levels of economic cooperation and business exchange are still far below what we expect. them, taking into account the great potential between our two countries", he said.
João Lourenço expressed that it is in the interest of the Republic of Angola to work together to find the paths that lead "to the construction of a solid political and cooperation base, based on the convergence of interests and the complementarity of the capacities of both, which manages stability factors that influence the development and well-being of the peoples" of the two countries.
"It is within this pattern of relationship that we want cooperation between the two countries to develop, changing the current paradigm to a dynamic and active model, which enhances the exchange of trade and investment, so that we can revitalize it and expand it to unexplored sectors, taking advantage of the ingenuity of our peoples and the various resources that our countries have", he said.
Carlos Vila Nova, who arrived in Luanda on Sunday, for a state visit until Wednesday, has an extensive work schedule, having already met on Monday morning with his Angolan counterpart, João Lourenço.
On Tuesday, the Sao Tome president will travel to the province of Namibe, where he will visit the Academy of Fisheries and Marine Sciences in that province on the south coast of Angola, with a new meeting between the two heads expected for Wednesday. of State, before leaving the Angolan capital, in the middle of the morning, to return to his country.
