“The main political objective of the visit of the President of the Republic, João Lourenço, to Brazil is to strengthen bilateral relations between the two countries, with a focus on the agricultural sector,” said Crispim Senga today, recalling the recent visit to Angola by a Brazilian business delegation.
Speaking to Lusa, as part of the visit scheduled for Friday, the specialist believes that the results should emerge in the medium or long term, defending the practical implementation of the signed agreements.
Crispim Senga understands that the results of the visit depend not only on the head of the executive, as the main driving force behind the country's foreign policy, but above all on his assistants in implementing the various agreements that the country has signed.
The executive must have the ability to analyze and evaluate the agreements that are signed to know if they are implemented and "if they have an impact on the quality of life of Angolans", he noted.
João Lourenço will travel to Brazil on May 23 to discuss with his counterpart, Lula da Silva, proposals for bilateral strengthening in the agricultural sector, according to the Brazilian government.
A Brazilian agribusiness mission with around 30 Brazilian businesspeople and led by the Minister of Agriculture and Livestock Carlos Fávaro, was in Angola from May 5 to 10, to participate in government meetings and technical visits in the provinces of Luanda, Malanje and Cuanza-Norte, in addition to meetings with representatives of the private sector to discuss forms of financing.
Senga highlighted, on the other hand, the importance of João Lourenço's visit to the South American nation, as an opportunity to attract foreign investment to Angola, within the scope of the head of state's economic diplomacy.
He noted, however, that foreign investment in Angola has not been carried out, as the authorities hope, due to a lack of “internal organization to attract and retain foreign investors”.
“Angola needs to organize itself internally to be able to attract and retain foreign investors, because at the national level we are still struggling with issues of corruption, instability, lack of communication channels, elements that do not attract investors,” he said.
“No investor, in their right mind, will invest in a country where they have no guarantee that they will be able to get a return the next day,” said the political analyst.
For Crispim Senga, author of the book “Africa in the Context of the New World Order”, which will be launched on Thursday in Luanda, João Lourenço is going to Brazil as President of Angola and not of the African Union (AU), noting that the African organization “works with a coordinated strategy”.
Asked whether this visit by the President, who is also the AU president, is in line with Angola's strategy as the leader of the African bloc, the political analyst also insisted that the AU “has a defined agenda”, admitting, however, that the current leadership can influence the organization's agenda.
The African Union “has a defined agenda, which means that all countries that assume the presidency end up having a continuous presidency, the result of an agenda that already exists at the organization level. Obviously, depending on the weight and context, the country that holds the presidency can, yes, influence the organization's agenda by introducing one element or another,” Crispim Senga also argued.
Around 70 percent of Brazilian exports to Angola come from the agribusiness sector, with emphasis on sugar and chicken, beef and pork, accounting for 340 of the 493 million dollars exported to the country last year.
