João Lourenço, who is on his first official visit to Ghana, spoke Monday night at a dinner hosted by his counterpart Nana Addo DankwaAkufo-Addo, at the Presidential Palace in Accra.
Angola and Ghana established diplomatic relations in 1976, having since then signed several bilateral agreements and legal instruments, which, however, took a long time to come into practice.
"This situation obviously did not favor the necessary dynamics in our relations, which leads us to seek to find agile mechanisms that allow more constant and regular contacts between representatives of our respective Governments", underlined the head of the executive, defending that the pace cooperation relations should "acquire a more consistent cadence" with the interests and perspectives of cooperation already expressed in a visit by the Ghanaian president to Angola in 2019.
"We must create a vast field of cooperation in various sectors, among which I highlight agriculture and fisheries, energy, maritime and rail transport, mineral resources, industry, tourism and others that may be identified. Angola is particularly interested in benefiting from Ghana's experience in gold prospecting, exploration, industrialization and marketing," he urged.
Putting "emphasis" on the need to overcome "this feeling of lethargy that exists in the relationship between our two countries", João Lourenço considered important the establishment of the air connection between Luanda and Accra, to be ensured by TAAG, the Angolan airline, pointing out the large influx of West African citizens to Angola on business trips.
"I believe that this movement could intensify with the opening of the air link I referred to, increasing the reciprocal search for investments to be made by entrepreneurs in this part of our continent, which will give Ghana a pivotal position among the West Africa and Southern Africa", he stressed.
João Lourenço also addressed the health crisis that is being experienced due to covid-19, recalling that vaccines will only produce satisfactory effects in the fight against the pandemic if equitable access is guaranteed.
"We must look for solutions that enable the rational use of material resources available to our countries to obtain tangible results, through mechanisms such as the Continental African Free Trade Area, which paves the way for the continent's economic integration", he appealed.
In his speech, the president also spoke about common concerns about piracy and other activities that affect security in the Gulf of Guinea, calling for the mobilization of all.
"We were able to put an end to the Apartheid regime in South Africa, I believe we will also be able to eliminate the terrorism that plagues the countries of the Sahel region, the Horn of Africa, the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo or the northeast of Mozambique .
I am convinced that, if we all mobilize, we will be able to achieve this objective, provided that each of the countries of our continent assumes the importance of solidarity", he concluded.
João Lourenço, who is in Ghana, after visiting Turkey and Guinea-Conakry, will also be received at the Ghanaian Parliament.
