Luanda - Guinea-Bissau's ambassador to Angola, Apolinário Mendes de Carvalho, on Tuesday in the Province of Luanda, defended the implementation of legal agreements signed in 2010 in the areas of natural resources, trade, military justice and transport.
Speaking to ANGOP, the diplomat said that work was underway to set up a joint Guinea-Bissau/Angola bilateral commission to reassess and redefine the priorities for implementing the agreements.
Apolinário Mendes de Carvalho said that Angolan businesspeople were interested in investing in Guinea-Bissau in a wide range of sectors.
He said that the two countries' geographies had a bearing on the dynamics of co-operation, stressing that it would be easier if the two countries were in the same regional integration zone.
He also disclosed that there are around 2,000 Guinea-Bissau citizens under the embassy control in Angola, many of whom have residency status, emphasising that there were 700 applications for residency certificates at the Angolan Foreign Migration Services (SME).
According to the diplomat, the Angolan government has created a policy to regularise all Bissau-Guinean citizens and those who were in detention for administrative reasons, such as lack of or expired visas, are already free.
Angola and Guinea-Bissau have maintained relations since the period of the anti-colonial struggle and the strengthening of the two peoples on the basis of friendship, fraternity and solidarity.
Angola recently advocated reviewing and re-establishing all the agreements signed between the two countries up until 2012, with the aim of strengthening bilateral co-operation.
FMA/VIC/MRA/jmc
