"South Africa and Angola have long-standing fraternal relations. For many years Angola supported our liberation struggle (from the apartheid regime) and the South African people were delighted to see the Angolans gain their independence almost 50 years ago," said the South African head of state at the end of talks in Pretoria, as part of his Angolan counterpart's state visit.
Ramaphosa stressed that this "shared history" between the two countries served as the basis for cooperation through the binational commission, created in 2000 between the governments of the African National Congress (ANC), in power since 1994, and the Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA), which has governed Angola since 1975.
The Binational Cooperation Commission (BNC) will hold its next meeting in Luanda next year, Cyril Ramaphosa announced.
The South African leader stressed that "Angola and South Africa are two of the largest economies in the southern region of the continent", and that Pretoria and Luanda agreed on the "need to strengthen relations in trade and in several other areas as well", without giving details.
The President of South Africa also referred to the Lobito corridor project, saying that it has been led by João Lourenço, that "the articulation of his vision of an economic development zone" and the project are received positively by Pretoria, which "fully supports the establishment of this corridor and (...) opportunities for deeper collaboration between our two countries".
According to Ramaphosa, around 20 South African companies operate in Angola, and South African foreign investment covers several sectors of the Angolan economy, including financial services, information technology, manufacturing, hotels, tourism and others.
The South African Industrial Development Corporation (IDC) also has investment projects in Angola, namely the Cabinda oil refinery and the Cabinda phosphate project.
As part of strengthening cooperation relations, the South African head of state also stated that the two countries had agreed to "audit" around 44 cooperation agreements currently in different stages of implementation.
In Ramaphosa's view, South Africa "looks forward to strengthening its ties with Angola in the cause of mutually beneficial growth, continental economic integration and sustainable development".
The South African President awarded his counterpart João Lourenço the Order of South Africa this Thursday, at a ceremony in the South African capital, and thanked him "on the occasion of the country's 30 years of democracy, on behalf of the South African people, for Angola's solidarity and friendship".
The Order of South Africa, in gold, is awarded to foreign heads of state, and was first awarded to Xi Jinping in 2023.
In Pretoria, the governments of the two countries signed an agreement on higher education and academic training this Thursday, as well as a memorandum of cooperation in the area of the historical legacy of the Liberation Struggle undertaken by the Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA) and its former ally, the African National Congress (ANC).
