According to a note from the Angolan Ministry of Foreign Affairs, delegations from the governments of both countries met this Thursday to prepare for the official visit to Angola by the President of Mozambique, Daniel Chapo, during which they plan to sign new legal instruments to boost cooperation in key sectors.
The delegations, led by the Angolan Minister of Foreign Affairs, Téte António, and the Mozambican Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, Maria Manuela Lucas, reviewed the current state of bilateral cooperation, and identified priority areas for deepening relations.
The sectors identified were the economy, trade, industry, agriculture, health, culture, tourism, transport and logistics, finance, mineral resources, technology and treasury, with the Mozambican leader expressing Mozambique's desire to intensify the implementation of the legal instruments signed between the two States.
According to the note, the two countries intend to strengthen political, diplomatic and economic relations, and envisage signing new legal instruments during the visit of the Mozambican Head of State to boost cooperation in key development sectors.
Téte António reiterated President João Lourenço's solidarity with the Mozambican people, “especially in the context of the fight against terrorism”, highlighting the importance of cooperation between the two countries within the African Union, the Southern African Development Community (SADC) and other regional organisations.
The meeting served to analyse issues related to the sectors within the scope of strengthening cooperation between the two States.
“Mutual support in the field of tourism was mentioned, while in the field of planning, Angola and Mozambique expressed their intention to promote technical exchange between the National Institutes of Statistics of both countries”, the note adds.
The Mozambican Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation highlighted the importance of strengthening communication between the Angolan Private Investment and Export Promotion Agency (AIPEX) and the Mozambique Agency for the Promotion of Investment and Exports (APIEX), with a view to boosting private investment and exports.
The Angolan Minister of Foreign Affairs said he was counting on Mozambique's participation in the 17th edition of the US-Africa Business Summit, which will be held from 22 to 25 June this year in Luanda.
The basis of Angola and Mozambique's bilateral relations is the General Agreement on Economic, Scientific, Technical and Cultural Cooperation of 1978, a date that also marks the creation of the Bilateral Cooperation Commission between the two countries.
The two States “share a common path of struggle against Portuguese colonialism, which resulted in the independence of Mozambique on 25 June 1975 and of Angola on 11 November of the same year”, the note highlights.
Currently, the two countries have a total of 38 legal instruments in a wide range of areas, with emphasis on the mining, fishing, oil and gas sectors.
On 23 April last year, two new legal instruments were initialled, the Verbal Proceedings of the 10th Session of the Angola-Mozambique Bilateral Commission and an agreement in the area of Health.
