The agreement, signed within the scope of the 6th EU-Angola Joint Path ministerial meeting by the Minister of Economy and Planning, Mário Caetano João, and the EU representative in Angola, Rosário Bento Pais, also includes support for social protection and the management of public finances.
Speaking to the press, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Portugal, João Gomes Cravinho, who co-chaired the meeting on behalf of the High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Josep Borrell, considered the meeting fruitful and of great use for the parties.
According to João Gomes Cravinho, the meeting served to take stock of what has been "an extremely fertile cooperation" in recent years between Angola and the EU, projecting the future.
"At this meeting we can take note of some pioneering developments in this relationship between Angola and the EU, I refer for example to the agreement to facilitate sustainable investment, the memorandum of understanding recently agreed between the EU, Angola and other partners for the development of Corredor do Lobito and other partners", he said.
In addition to taking note of these most recent developments, highlighted João Gomes Cravinho, the spectrum of matters covered by the "rich and dense relationship" between the EU and Angola was also analyzed and the parties' views on international and regional dynamics on the African continent were shared, in particular the situation in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRCongo), in the Central African Republic (CAR), among others.
"And also international circumstances that concern us all, namely what results from Russia's invasion of Ukraine," he added.
João Gomes Cravinho, asked to comment on the growing interest of the United States of America (USA) in investing in Angola outside the oil sector, said that the attraction of the African country as a place for American investment is seen as "something extremely positive for the Angolan economy and also for European investors who are interested in Angola".
In turn, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Téte António, said that the 6th ministerial session is the expression of "a qualitative leap" that has been made in the relationship between Angola and the EU.
"We welcome this mechanism, which is a specific mechanism for the Republic of Angola, this qualitative leap is demonstrated by the facts that the minister has just mentioned, but also by the quality of our conversations and the complete harmony every time we meet, and particularly today, which we address aspects related to our bilateral cooperation", he said.
The head of Angolan diplomacy highlighted that regional issues were addressed, as well as the efforts that Angola has made in the regions in which it is located, especially with regard to the search for peace in the DRCongo and CAR, as well as the threats of terrorism and the changes institutional issues, which also concern the African continent.
"The Angolan side also, with regard to Southern Africa, in its capacity as president of the Southern African Development Community (SADC), recalled President João Lourenço's concern regarding the issue of sanctions against Zimbabwe, because for us it concerns and we encourage dialogue to continue with a view to lifting these sanctions", he said.
Téte António reinforced that this issue has been the subject of dialogue not only in bilateral meetings with the EU, but also within the scope of the partnership with SADC and the commitment is to continue working towards achieving this result.
