Speaking to Lusa, on the sidelines of a conference organized by the School of Economics and Management of the University of Minho, Agostinho Van-Dúnem even highlighted that it was during the first administration of Donald Trump, who won the elections and returns in January as President, that “important leaps” were made in cooperation between Angola and the USA.
“With the new Trump administration, we will continue to work to strengthen our relations for the benefit of both countries. I don’t think there will be any setback in this cooperation,” he said.
He pointed out that the US “will continue to need some elements that are on the African continent and in Angola in particular, “for its own interest in terms of foreign policy”.
“And that’s where I think we will continue to cooperate”, he added, admitting that Angola could be a partner with the United States in the fight against terrorism and human trafficking, in the area of Angola’s critical minerals and in the expansion of commercial relations with African countries.
Agostinho Van-Dúnem highlighted that Angola “has not abandoned” its traditional partners, such as China and Russia, and is only betting on “more diversified cooperation”, also focusing on emerging countries such as Brazil and India.
“We do not see that we have abandoned partners to the detriment of other partners, what we are doing is deepening and diversifying our relationships. We cannot be conditioned to the relationship with a single country, we have to be very good at striking balances”, he said.
He highlighted that Angola has important assets such as “huge” natural resources, a strategic location and a very young population, which means that the country is looked at carefully by several economic powers.
“Angola, for example, is a bridge between the USA and the African continent. China and the USA will need, in the future, the critical minerals that Angola and the African continent have”, he stressed, days before the visit of the outgoing president, Joe Biden, to Luanda.
Still regarding relations between Angola and the European Union, Agostinho Van-Dúnem said that “they are good and at a level of evolution”.
“I highlight cooperation in those sectors that, for example, are not the oil sectors, namely cooperation and technical assistance in the field of good governance, transparency, management of public resources, in matters of human rights, because this cooperation helps to strengthen our institutions”, he said.
Therefore, he predicted “very good relations” with the European Union. “We have common interests, the issue of security, the issue of terrorism and Angola can position itself as a strategic partner of the European Union and that is what I think will happen”, he concluded.
