Luanda – President of Brazil Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva said this Friday in Luanda that his country is the right partner to help leverage the strategy of diversification of the Angolan economy, mainly in the food industry sector.
Lula da Silva made the pledge during the official talks between the two governments, adding that his country has technological knowledge and public policies to share with Angola in the field of food security.
Brazil’s president said that the two States face common challenges in this field and announced the implementation of a joint action plan between the respective Ministries of Agriculture, without specifying the time horizon.
Brazilian President announced that a programme is in the progress in the Cunene Valley, with 25 actions that complement each other, whose aim is to promote agricultural development on the African continent, particularly in Angola.
He explained that the programme ranges from agricultural research to fundraising for the implementation of credit policies for small producers, thus being a new paradigm in his country's cooperation with Africa.
“The Cunene Valley is similar to the São Francisco Valley in Brazil, a region cyclically affected by droughts, which has become a food producing pole”, explained Lula da Silva, stressing that his country will seek partners in the Brazilian private sector, to complete the necessary irrigation structure for Cunene.
As countries with tropical forests, he said, Brazil and Angola need to find sustainable development solutions, reconciling environmental protection with the well-being of their populations, and Angola can join the effort started at the Amazon Summit, in Belém, early this month.
He highlighted the kick off, last May, of the production of the first green pig iron steel plant, in Cuando Cubango province, based on charcoal, produced from the flourishing of 60,000 hectares of degraded land.
In the field of Tourism, he said that the efforts of the two countries are going in the same direction, so that Brazilian undertakings will bring sustainable practices, such as desalination of sea water and effective treatment of solid waste.
Lula da Silva highlighted, on the other hand, the fact that Brazil had supported Angola in the past, in strategic sectors, such as infrastructure and energy, including during the war, underlining that Angola has always been its biggest bridge in Africa.
He added that the continent has been treated with indifference in recent years, resulting in the abandonment of multilateral cooperation. “We stopped acting together in international forums, now we are going to correct these mistakes”, he stressed.
He stated that this, his first state visit to an African country since he resumed power, symbolises Brazil's return to Africa.
In the field of Health, Lula da Silva said that the two countries resumed two fronts of great impact, strengthened the policy of prevention and diagnosis and treatment of leprosy (infectious disease) in Angola, having announced the first medicine factory in the country, the result of a consortium of three Brazilian companies and from the Private Investment and Export Promotion Agency (AIPEX) markets, he added.
In the education sector, progress was made on the implementation of a project called “Escola de Todos” (School for all in English), which will increase access, permanence and learning of students in the Angolan education system, including people with disabilities.
Lula da Silva noted that science and research will also be part of the cooperation, and data processing agencies and information technologies will develop joint efforts concerning intellectual capital.
In his view, Angola has the conditions to become the defence hub in Africa, with the acquisition of aircraft, and the revival of the fleet of toucans and super toucans would bring technology transfer.
He stated that the Brazilian naval industry can support the modernisation of the Angolan Navy, adding that the two States addressed the issue of financing Brazilian export operations, which is essential to boost the economic partnership of the two States.
On another front, Lula da Silva highlighted the role of President João Lourenço in pacifying the conflict involving the Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda.
The President of Brazil took the opportunity to invite his counterpart João Lourenço to participate in the G20 Summit, to be held in December of this year. FMA/AL/ADR/CF/NIC
