The advantages of cooperation between Angola and Japan, as well as the results of the Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD), are topics addressed in the October edition of the Japanese magazine Keidanren, in an article written by Angola’s Ambassador to Japan, Teodolinda Coelho.
The diplomat’s text takes a look at TICAD as an important lever in the relations between Japan and the African continent, and between Angola and Japan, in particular.
Translated into Japanese and English, the article highlights the Angola-Japan relations which, next year, will reach 50 years, during which period the two countries have developed projects in various fields.
The diplomat recalls that, after achieving peace, Angola has benefited from Japan’s support in the development process, such as the construction and rehabilitation of infrastructure, capacity building of personnel, as well as investments in the health, agriculture, telecommunications, transport, science and technology, energy and water, fisheries sectors, among others.
She emphasizes the need for the two countries to continue working towards more comprehensive cooperation, advising Japan to take advantage of Angola’s economic potential, supporting the industrialization process through the attraction of investments.
Teodolinda Coelho expresses her desire for the cooperation between Angola and Japan to be extended to the areas of oil, gas, and mining.
She also wishes that the country becomes one of Japan’s main partners in the energy sector, taking advantage of the existence in Angola of strategic minerals important for the industry.
She also highlights how the discussions and results of TICAD-9 can impact the deepening and alignment of the structural projects emanating from the African Union’s Agenda 2063, which aim to address the continent’s various challenges related to industrialization, inter-connectivity, and facilitating continental integration, making way for an economically developed Africa.