Luanda - The Angolan Head of State, João Lourenço, arrived this Monday morning in Abu Dhabi, capital of United Arab Emirates, for a two-day official visit, the first he is making to this Middle Eastern country since he took office as head of the Angolan State.
President Lourenço arrived in Abu Dhabi accompanied by the first lady of the Republic, Ana Dias Lourenço.
The programme of the visit reserves for today, in the afternoon, a private meeting between the President of the Republic, João Lourenço, and the Prince of Abu Dhabi, also Deputy Supreme Commander of the United Arab Emirates Armed Forces, Hamdan Bin Zayed Sultan Al Nahyam.
The two dignitaries will then witness the signing of memoranda of understanding between the two countries in the fields of Transport and Energy.
On Wednesday, the last day of the visit, João Lourenço will visit the EXPO, on a day dedicated to Angola.
The state visit to the United Arab Emirates is part of the framework of the new paradigm of economic diplomacy with which the country intends to attract more foreign investments.
Bilateral relations have entered a new phase, with the introduction of joint policies to follow up on cooperation in broader areas of intervention and common interest.
Development of bilateral relations
Angola and the United Arab Emirates initialled a reciprocal investment protection agreement in 2019, the starting point for the start-up of investments.
The governments of the two countries ratified the Convention to avoid double taxation and tax evasion which came into force in March 2020.
The two states are focusing on economic cooperation, especially in transport, agriculture and industry.
In terms of transport there is already, among others, an air link between the cities of Luanda and Dubai.
The UAE is a confederation formed by seven Arab monarchies of the Persian Gulf, each with its own sovereignty.
The Emirates are Dubai, Sharjah, Ajman, Fujairah, Ras al-Khaimah, Umm al-Quwain and Abu Dhabi, the capital and political and diplomatic centre.
With an estimated population of over nine million inhabitants, Arabic is the official language and Islam is the predominant religion.
