Angola and Brazil signed this Wednesday, within the scope of the III meeting of the High Level Bilateral Commission between Angola and Brazil, two legal instruments, including the delivery of notification for the entry into force of the Defense Agreement between the two countries and a cooperation program on development in irrigated areas and family farming.
Speaking at the end of the meeting, in Luanda, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Brazil, Carlos Alberto França, said that the meeting served to strengthen the strategic partnership, signed in 2010, and that the talks covered a vast domain of topics, including the world conflicts and the opportunities that the crisis in Ukraine can provide in the field of food security and economic development of countries like Brazil and Angola.
According to the head of Brazilian diplomacy, the break in the grain and food supply chain from Ukraine and Russia could serve to "rearrange value chains" and strengthen logistical links between Brazil and Angola, putting Africa – and Angola – as a factor in "expanding food security in the world" in the near future.
"We want to contribute to this effort. Angola is a brother country and we have conditions here that are very similar to Brazilian geographical conditions," said the Brazilian minister.
The official highlighted the opening of an office of an agricultural attaché to strengthen cooperation not only with health entities, but also with the Brazilian agricultural research company that developed, in the 1970s, the work of expanding the agricultural frontier of Brazil with results in terms of agricultural productivity.
"The objective is to replicate on the African continent - starting with Angola - the conditions that allowed Brazil to expand the production of grains, but also of beef and poultry", underlined Carlos França, adding that the process that took place in Brazil 50 years ago can be accelerated, turning Angola into a food security superpower.
The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Téte António, presented the creation of an attaché position for agriculture as "a very interesting innovation", as it will bring Brazilian know-how and scientific research capacity to Angola.
Regarding the consequences of the conflict in Ukraine for Africa, the minister said that the continent could present itself as an alternative, given the abundance of land and water, and would only need investment to feed the rest of the world.
"I think that this is the debate that should be on the table", he stressed, indicating that the paths point towards Brazil being able to contribute to this development.
With regard to the agreement on Defense, Téte António preferred not to go into details, while his Brazilian counterpart pointed out that there is a vast field of cooperation with Angola in this area, taking into account the Government's authorization for its military to integrate United Nations peace missions and that the two forces can act together.
Initially, it was planned to sign other protocols in the area of health, investment facilitation and an agreement to avoid double taxation of profits from international air and maritime transport, which were not initialed at this Wednesday's meeting.
The ministers explained that the agreements are still being worked on and that the signing could take place during Carlos Alberto França's stay in Luanda, where he remains until Friday, to participate in the XXVII Ordinary Meeting of the Council of Ministers of the Community of Portuguese Language (CPLP), an organization currently chaired by Angola.
"There are aspects that we would like to continue to improve, the closer we get to perfection, the better it is for both peoples", said Téte Antonio, stressing that the two agreements signed today are not the only indicator of the relationship between Angola and Brazil.
Carlos Alberto França said that these are not pending issues in relation to the agreements, but procedures that need to be followed.
The Brazilian official stressed that cooperation between Angola and Brazil is "technical and educational", but also centered on people, and informed that investments in this area amount to more than 6 million dollars.
In the field of double taxation for transport, he stated that, as soon as the agreement is signed, there may be renewed interest on the part of Brazilian airlines to establish connections to Angola and "will also facilitate the expansion of TAAG's operations".
Carlos Alberto França traveled to Luanda accompanied by a delegation that includes businessmen, the director general of the Brazilian Cooperation Agency and four parliamentarians.
