"The United States is humbly willing to share its lessons learned during 247 years of democracy while Angola navigates its own democratic aspirations", said Tulinabo Mushingi, in Luanda, in his speech opening the celebrations of the 4th of July, independence day from United States.
The US diplomat stressed that "strong democracies need strong institutions, not strong men", adding that strong partnerships benefit from transparency and accountability.
"That is why, over the years, we have been proud to support Angola's commitment to eradicate corruption", stressed the diplomat, who also reiterated that "a free and open press is a crucial component for a mature democracy".
The year 2023 also coincides with the 30th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the two countries and Tulinabo Mushingi highlighted the growth of the partnership with "positive results" for both peoples, considering that prosperity, good governance and security are pillars for the future .
For the coming years, the priorities of the Americans in Angola are to strengthen trade diplomacy, security and good governance; improving the business environment, promoting transparency to fight corruption; promote freedom of the press and support Angola's democratic path, including municipal elections.
There are currently more than 70 North American companies operating in Angola, with emphasis on oil companies such as Chevron and ExxonMobil, but also "new partners", such as Africell, Gates Air, Quanten, Sun Africa, and Acrow Bridge that operate in areas such as digitization of telecommunications networks, forms of clean energy and infrastructure.
He also addressed the inauguration ceremony of the Lobito corridor railway concession, which took place this Tuesday in Benguela in the presence of the heads of state of Angola, Zambia and the Democratic Republic of Congo, and which the US Government intends to finance in an amount of 250 million dollars.
"The Lobito Corridor is one of the most important infrastructure projects in Angola in strategic terms. This will be DFC's biggest and first investment in Angola and its first investment in a railway project in Africa", stressed Tulinabo.
In terms of cooperation, he said that the partnership in terms of security continues to grow and recognized Angola's leadership in building transatlantic peace and regional stability: "the aim is to protect our peoples against threats, whether public health, political instability or terrorism".
"I believe that changes are coming to Angola", continued the US representative, giving as an example the growing number of women in power, as well as young entrepreneurs and politicians, the "strong opposition in the National Assembly", the development of renewables and competitive telecommunications.
