Washington - Angolan President João Lourenço on Thursday reiterated his country’s openness to cooperate with the United States of America in various areas, particularly agriculture.
Speaking at the opening of talks with the US president Joe Biden, the Angolan president expressed his country’s openness to establish strategic partnerships in other areas of interest, such as energy, transport, space exploration and others.
The Angolan president congratulated Joe Biden for being the first US Head of State to change the paradigm of cooperation with Africa.
João Lourenço recalled that at the US-AFRICA Summit in 2022, the US president pledged to look at Africa with new eyes, investing in the construction of infrastructures necessary for the development of the continent.
The Angolan Head of State underlined that the US involvement in the Lobito Corridor and other projects in the telecommunications and clean energy sectors are the proven materialization of this commitment.
"These infrastructures will help not only Angola, but a large part of the continent," Lourenço said, adding that Thursday's meeting turns over a new page in the relations between the US and Africa.
Speaking to the press after the meeting, João Lourenço expressed satisfaction, with the meeting underlining that relations between the two countries are at a very high level and that Angola and the African continent are the ones to profit.
João Lourenço's trip to Washington comes as part of the celebrations of 30 years of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Angola and the US, formalized in 1993 by then US President Bill Clinton.
The formalization put an end to a phase of political tensions and indirect confrontation that began shortly after Angola became independent in 1975, as a result of the Cold War between the then USSR and the USA.
Only in 1993, during Bill Clinton's presidency, formal diplomatic relations was established, which have reached new heights in recent years, bringing the two countries and peoples closer together.
In three decades, the two states have deepened exchanges, with regular visits by authorities, businesspeople and other players, which have allowed them to share experiences in various fields.
Angola is currently the US's third largest trading partner in sub-Saharan Africa, with oil as one of the main assets of this strategic partnership.
In addition to the oil sector, bilateral cooperation has increased in recent years, especially in the area of commercial diplomacy, which has made it possible to approve various projects.
In terms of renewable energy, for example, funding totaling 900 million US dollars was approved for projects developed by the American company Sun Africa, while in infrastructure a total of 363 million US dollars was approved this year for the American company Acro Briz to build metal bridges in 18 provinces of Angola.
The US government has said it plans to invest 250 million in the Lobito Corridor (Benguela province), and several digitization projects.
There is cooperation with the Africell company for the money digitalization, as part of a program called 'Digital Money is Better', with an investment of five million dollars.
Another ongoing investment in Angola is focused on the environment, with the US investing roughly 7.5 million in the Okavango Delta.
The two nations signed recently a memorandum of understanding in the security sector to strengthen relationships in maritime security and equipment supply. ELJ/AMP
