João Lourenço was speaking as part of the two-day visit of Andry Rajoelina, President of the Republic of Madagascar, which began this Thursday in Luanda, with a meeting at the Presidential Palace.
"The Republic of Madagascar has taken important steps to create conditions that will give greater visibility and relevance to the mining and oil sectors, which are experiencing rapid growth in your country", stressed the Head of State, adding that Angola has accumulated knowledge in these areas, which are the driving force of the economy.
"Angola is open to strengthening relations with Madagascar in these sectors, placing its experience at your disposal, so that the Malagasy people can, in a short space of time, make the most of them", he stated.
The head of state welcomed Andry Rajoelina's visit, which took place just a few months after João Lourenço travelled to Madagascar for his inauguration, and stressed that this was a time to plan actions of mutual interest and "awaken bilateral relations that have been dormant for the last few decades". João Lourenço also spoke of the need to develop "intense cooperation" in other areas, such as agriculture and tourism, where the two countries can complement each other "in terms of mutual transfer of knowledge". He also highlighted the signing of the new General Cooperation Agreement, which he considered essential for framing the legal instruments that were signed relating to the oil, mining and energy sectors and, in particular, the Bilateral Joint Commission, to regularly analyse the state of cooperation. "On this basis, I challenge the diplomacy of each of our countries to create the necessary conditions for holding the First Session of the Angola/Madagascar Bilateral Commission as soon as possible.
In his speech, João Lourenço addressed issues relating to peace and security, especially in Africa, which, he assured, have received "very particular attention" in Angola, recalling that, on Tuesday night, a ceasefire was reached in Luanda between the parties to the conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo, after a ministerial meeting with delegations from that country and Rwanda.
On the other hand, Angola continues to follow "with great concern" the dispute between Russia and Ukraine and that involving Israel and Palestine.
"The events of the last few days against Beirut and Tehran do not bode well for peace in the Middle East, which, with ups and downs, has been negotiated with the mediation of Qatar and Egypt, with the encouragement of the entire international community", lamented João Lourenço.
