João Lourenço, who was speaking at the Presidential Palace, where he swore in the 23 members of the Council of the Republic, under the new legislature, said he hoped for better advice, believing that the nominees are good patriots.
"As good patriots that they are, I believe I can count on and expect the best advice from you so that I can carry out my duties with zeal", he said.
"All of us are interested in having an increasingly democratic and prosperous Angola that brings well-being to its citizens, that guarantees the country's economic and social development", he stressed.
Former councilors and new councilors, he said, expects from everyone "the best contributions, the best advice" so that "he can act wisely in the face of problems" that he "has to face" in the exercise of his functions.
The Council of the Republic, the President's consultation body, is composed of 23 personalities, including politicians, religious, business people, journalists and religious and traditional authorities.
The vice-president of the Republic, Esperança Maria da Costa, the president of the National Assembly, Carolina Cerqueira, the attorney general of the Republic, Hélder Fernando Pitta Gróz, are part of this consultation body of João Lourenço, appointed on Tuesday.
The Council of the Republic also includes all the leaders of the parties with parliamentary seats: National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA), National Front for the Liberation of Angola (FNLA), Social Renewal Party (PRS), Humanist Party of Angola ( PHA), as well as the vice-president of the Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA).
Personalities from the former Council are also part of the new body, namely businessmen Alfeo Sachiquepa, Manuel António Monteiro and Carlos Cunha, the king of the Baiacas, António Charles Muanauta Cabamba, and environmentalist Fernanda René.
Religious leaders Deolinda Dorcas Teca, secretary general of the Council of Christian Churches in Angola (CICA), the reverend Luis Nguimbi, president of the Angolan Christian Forum, and the leader of the Spiritist Theosophical Church, the prophetess Suzete João, remain.
Journalists Ismael Mateus and Susana Mendes were called again, to which the journalist Paula Simons has now joined.
The writer Adriano Botelho de Vasconcelos, Jorge Alicerces Valentim (former UNITA leader who joined the MPLA) and the academic Rosa Maria Martins da Cruz e Silva also remain.
The former Minister of Justice Francisco Queiroz also joins the Council of the Republic.
At the end of the inauguration ceremony, all the members posed for a family photograph in the gardens of the Presidential Palace and none made statements after the act.
