Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, who was speaking in Luanda, where he made a state visit, said that he traveled to Angola to pay a debt due to the fact that his Angolan counterpart participated in his investiture and showed solidarity with the "frustrated coup attempt " on the 8th of last January.
He also justified his visit by the fact that his country was the first to recognize Angola's independence: since then "all government officials paid attention to Angola and Brazil had a strong policy in Angola", he said.
"Only in recent times when the country was taken over by hatred, by 'fake news' and by lies, a President who didn't like anyone, Angola was forgotten", he shot.
"I'm here today to say that Brazil is going to return to the African continent, I want to visit as many countries as I can, I want to make as many deals as I can, I want to contribute in solidarity wherever I can, but Angola will always be our gateway to this continent", he assured.
Speaking alongside his Angolan counterpart, João Lourenço, following the signing of seven memorandums of understanding, he also recalled the historical relations of almost 50 years between both countries.
"We have a historic relationship, next year we will complete 50 years of relationship and I hope that when we complete 50 years we will be at a hundred per hour in our economy, in taking care of the people so that we can say that it is worth it", he stressed.
"I am here to tell the people of Angola that Brazil has truly returned. Angola, we have a preferential relationship and we will try to do whatever is possible so that we can have the most productive, healthiest relationship with our dear Angola," he assured.
Speaking, amid applause from both delegations present at the Presidential Palace, the Brazilian President reaffirmed his Angolan counterpart: "Comrade João Lourenço, be sure that we are truly back where we should never have left".
Lula da Silva also defended that João Lourenço should reciprocate his visit to Angola with a trip to Brazil, considering that a trip by the Angolan President to his country "must be sumptuous and from two countries that want to be great".
"And for us to be big, we have to dream big and to dream big we have to do big things", he argued, speaking at a "meeting with all the ministers of Angola and Brazil".
"We have to arrange a strong meeting with businessmen and we have to show what Brazilian businessmen can gain by investing in Angola and what Angola can gain from Brazilian businessmen in Angola, that is what we are going to show", he concluded.
Already during a speech in a formal session of parliament, held to mark his two-day State visit to Angola, the President of Brazil said that "Angola has a partner and a friend in Brazil".
Lula da Silva highlighted Brazil's "pride" in having been "the first country in the world to recognize" Angola's independence.
"We are proud to be part of this country's modern history. A rich and victorious history, which well exemplifies the capacity of African nations to assume their own destiny" highlighted Lula da Silva, stressing that his visit "marks Brazil's reunion with Africa, relaunches bilateral cooperation and prepares a robust agenda to celebrate, in 2025", the 50 years of diplomatic relations.
The Brazilian President stressed that Brazil and Angola have "profound similarities and affinities" and considered that "the African matrices are constitutive" of the Brazilian national identity.
With his visit to Angola, Lula da Silva said he wanted to "inaugurate a new cooperation agenda (...) that will also serve as a model for other countries" and defended that Brazil "has conditions to once again be a great partner of Angola in its development".
A development, he added, "founded on the strengthening of agriculture and industry, on scientific and technological progress, on energy transition and on the protection of the environment and biodiversity".
"Another challenge that we need to face together is that of finding new energy sources that can curb the devastating effects of climate change. Brazil has been working on solutions for more than four decades. With biofuels, we have arrived at a viable, clean option , relatively cheap and accessible to most countries in the South", he highlighted.
"The consolidation of the bioenergy markets will soon allow Africa to have a new source of resources to finance its development needs", he said, defending that Angola, due to the tropical forest it has "is a natural ally of the Amazonian countries in the search for a fair remuneration for the services that these biomes and their biodiversity provide to the world".
In her speech, the president of the National Assembly, Carolina Cerqueira, saluted Lula da Silva, whom Angola recognizes as "the great attributes of a statesman, a diplomat, an intransigent defender of the most disadvantaged, one of the greatest politicians of the 21st century".
"The world we want, Mr. President, is a world where South-South cooperation is strong and prosperous, so that we are the protagonists of our destinies, our desires and our future", stressed Carolina Cerqueira, quoting Lula's words da Silva at the recent BRICS summit held in Johannesburg.
"This world needs Brazil, a diverse, multiple and progressive nation", she stressed.
Lula da Silva left Luanda on Sunday morning, heading to São Tomé and Príncipe to attend the XIV Conference of Heads of State and Government of the Community of Portuguese Speaking Countries (CPLP).
