António Costa arrived in Luanda this morning for a two-day official visit, having been received at the airport by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Téte António, and by the governor of Luanda province, Manuel Homem.
In an interview with Jornal de Angola, regarding the commemorations of the 50th anniversary of the 25th of April, in 2024, and the 50th anniversary of Angola's independence, in 2025, the prime minister argued that the two events "are inseparable".
"Inseparable from the outset due to the impact that the Angolan liberation war had on the end of the fascist regime in Portugal, but also due to the step that the 25th of April represented for the independence of Angola. The priorities of the Armed Forces Movement for the democratic Portugal of the our days were clear: Democratize, Decolonize and Develop. It was on this basis, on this common sharing of liberation from an oppressive regime, that we built a very special, mature and even complicit relationship between Portugal and Angola, which lasts today and which we want to maintain in the future," he maintained.
Regarding his second official visit to Angola – the first was in September 2018 – António Costa said that it takes place at a time when bilateral relations are excellent".
"This circumstance obliges us to look to the future of the bilateral relationship with renewed ambition and to manage to do more and better in the various areas of cooperation. The absence of irritants allows us to be fully focused on the potential that we can achieve", he declared.
Among the bilateral agreements that will be signed this Monday, in a ceremony that will take place after meeting with the President, João Lourenço, the leader of the Portuguese executive highlighted two: "the extension of the Portugal-Angola credit line, which will pass from the current 1.5 billion euros to two billion euros; and the new Strategic Cooperation Program for the five-year period 2023-2027".
This new strategic cooperation programme, according to António Costa, "will mark the 45 years of cooperation between Portugal and Angola" and presents "a 43 percent boost compared to the previous programme".
In the interview, the prime minister also promised to contribute to the diversification of the Angolan economy.
"Angola has pursued a reformist and ambitious agenda over the last few years, namely with regard to the objectives of economic diversification, state reform and the fight against corruption. Portugal remains committed and available to support the Angolan authorities in these efforts", he said.
In this context, António Costa stressed that Portuguese companies "never left Angola, even in the most difficult times, and are able to invest in new areas in the Angolan economy, such as agri-food, renewable energies, blue economy, fisheries, tourism and others that Angola defines as priorities".
