João Lourenço was speaking in the capital of Botswana, where he arrived on Thursday, for a three-day state visit at the invitation of his counterpart, Mokgweetsi Eric Keabetswe Masisi.
He addressed the cooperation between the two countries, which is still "far short of what is expected", hoping that "concrete steps" will be started in the areas of interest identified by the two countries, such as agriculture and livestock, energy and water, industry and commerce, hotels and tourism, geology and mines, nature conservation, etc.
He stressed that Angola has defined tourism as a priority sector in its economy diversification strategy, which involves taking advantage of the tourist potential of the Angolan Okavango Region, which is an integral part of the Okavango Zambezi Transfrontier Conservation Area, comprising Angola, Botswana, Namibia, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
"This transnational project is a great example of multilateral cooperation for the preservation of shared wildlife resources, where the elephant stands out, which cross our common border along the migratory wildlife corridor of the Cuando (river)," he stressed.
The chief executive added that Angola is "working hard on the Angolan component of the Okavango", having created a multisectoral group for the analysis and inventory of wildlife and land resources, "to overcome all the constraints that conditioned Angola's full participation in this laudable initiative".
"We consider it essential to attract investors, mainly those already operating in Botswana, to promote tourism in the Angolan component of the Okavango", he said, announcing that the first Investor Forum for the Angolan Okavango region will be held in 2023, "which represents a great opportunity" for large investors operating in the Okavango Delta to learn about the potential and business opportunities.
"Let's work together to create incentives aimed at promoting sustainable tourism, based on taking advantage of the natural potential offered by the Okavango and surrounding areas, thus contributing to leveraging the economic and social development of rural communities established in this area", appealed João Lourenço, who hopes to rely on Botswana's experience to train Angolan staff regarding the management of the Angolan part of the cross-border conservation area and of parks and natural reserves such as Luengue-Luiana and Mavinga.
João Lourenço also pointed out the great interest in cooperation in the agriculture and livestock sector and aspects related to the transport sector, namely, the establishment of air routes to boost commercial, cultural and tourist exchange between the two countries.
In the field of mineral resources, "a permanent concertation platform is being created in the areas of exploration, production and marketing of diamonds".
The President also said he was concerned about the serious events and their consequences taking place in the African continent (Sudan, the DRC, Mozambique and the SAHEL region), the Middle East and the "Russia's aggression against Ukraine" and the annexation of part of its territory, which "violates the principles of International Law, constitutes a bad precedent in relations between States and threatens world peace and security".
