– Excellency Ambassador Najah Abdul Rahman, Dean of the Diplomatic Corps;
– Excellencies Ambassadors and Heads of Diplomatic Mission;
– Excellency Representatives of International Organizations and other foreign entities accredited in the Republic of Angola;
-Distinguished Guests;
– Ladies and Gentlemen,
It is an honor for me today to receive in the Hall of the Presidential Palace the dignified Representatives of the Diplomatic Corps, International Organizations and other foreign entities accredited in the Republic of Angola for this New Year Greetings Ceremony.
I had the opportunity to listen very carefully to the words of Ambassador Najah Abdul Rahman, Dean of the Diplomatic Corps, whom I thank for the votes of well-being and prosperity dedicated to the Angolan people, as well as me and my family.
Last year, we had the opportunity to develop an active diplomacy with a very strong economic background, which allowed the capture of several investments and the exponential increase in the interest of many private investors in the Angolan market.
This great diplomatic exercise was only possible thanks to the joint work between Angolan authorities, diplomatic missions, international organizations and other foreign entities accredited in our country.
On this occasion, we would like to thank the work done and continue to count on the collaboration and commitment of all, so that we can continue the momentum already achieved.
We will continue to work to recover our economy and to find the paths that lead us to an effective economic diversification.
We will follow up the policies that aim at the credibility of the State institutions, maintaining the fight against corruption and other ills that our society needs.
It is now widely believed that impunity in relation to practices detrimental to the public purse has been counted, which has contributed to a change in Angola’s image internally and internationally.
A clear demonstration of the trust thus created among international institutions was the agreement between the Government of the Republic of Angola and the International Monetary Fund.
The fight against corruption and the consequent process of credibility of the State is, of course, a continuous process, and we would like the Ambassadors and Heads of Diplomatic Missions, Representatives of International Organizations and other entities to help us spread to the International Community the new image of Angola that is more open and more receptive to private investment in its many aspects.

Ambassadors and Heads of the Diplomatic Mission, Ladies and Gentlemen,
During 2018, elections in many countries of the African continent were recorded with great satisfaction.
This finding reinforces the idea that the populations of our continent are increasingly prepared to live with diversity and begin to face normalcy in living in democracy.
At the end of the year, we witnessed elections in the democratic republic of the Congo, whose people, despite various constraints, with civility, came en masse to polling stations in order to express their firm will to participate in the election of to lead the destinies of the country in the next years, according to the constitution of the republic.
At a time when the world is looking forward to the political and security situation of this important SADC and Great Lakes country, the African Union has just met at its headquarters in Addis Ababa and has taken the decision, among other things, to send a high-level delegation to Kinshasa in the coming days.
We salute the Malagasy people for the holding of the elections in Madagascar, which culminated in the election of President Andry Rajoelina, whom we congratulate for the victory and wish for success in the governance of this important country of the SADC member country.
We would also like to congratulate the Brazilian people on the fact that they have gone to the polls at the end of the year and elected President Jair Bolsonaro from the first days of January to lead the destinies of this brother country, Brazil, with whom we intend to deepen the ties of friendship and cooperation that unite Angola and Brazil.
In this year ,2019, elections will be held throughout the African continent.
Our message is that our countries continue to hold credible free and fair elections, by strengthening democracy on our continent, with truly plural societies increasingly aligned with the paradigms of a more modern and globalized world.

Distinguished Ambassadors and Heads of Diplomatic Mission, Ladies and Gentlemen,
We believe that, as International Relations actors, we must continue to defend multilateralism as the stabilizing mechanism of all nations, increasing the potential for fair and mutually advantageous cooperation.
We would like to emphasize the role of the Great Powers, which have great responsibilities in maintaining and safeguarding world peace and security, because any conflicts between them may have devastating and even catastrophic consequences for all humanity if they are not managed with responsibility.
We must stress the need to pay particular attention to the issue of global warming and climate change , which requires concrete action to be taken, as successive warnings by scientists point to an imminent risk of environmental collapse of our planet.
We also closely monitor the management of sensitive dossiers related to international treaties on non-proliferation of nuclear weapons.
Our vision is always to privilege dialogue and diplomacy to the detriment of muscular positions for such a sensitive and dangerous subject that can be considered as irreversible.
We support the reforms in the United Nations which aim above all to make the Organization more balanced and fairer in the representation of all continents as permanent members of the Security Council, which will better reflect the reality geo-politics and the globalized economy of the present century.
This is why we appeal to all member states to continue to support the UN and its specialized organizations, such as UNESCO, UNHCR, UNICEF and others, which have developed a very important work.
There is a pressing need to continue to value the World Trade Organization as a regulator of world trade.
We soon foresee a positive outcome of the arm wrestling between US and China on the import tariffs of commercial products from both countries, which has already had as a direct consequence the cooling of the world economy, with the main stock exchanges in general.

Distinguished Ambassadors and Heads of Diplomatic Mission, Ladies and Gentlemen,
Unfortunately, we are still witnessing a number of conflicts around the world, notably in Syria, Yemen and other regions. And the already very old, if allowed expression, the Israeli and Palestinian conflict.
We must continue to work to find peaceful solutions that lead us to the resolution of conflicts referred to and others that still persist.
A major concern in the context of conflicts in Africa has to do with what takes place in the Central African Republic (CAR), where rebel forces have registered worrying developments in the military field.
This is a matter of great concern to us, because the RCA Government is conditioned and limited in its action to defend the national territory, security and protection of its country by the United Nations Security Council, which prevents it from equipping its Army with the necessary resources to deal with the attacks of the rebel groups that operate in the country.
We have appealed again and again to review this situation, in our view, it is unfair and dangerous.
We should welcome the efforts being made by the North Korean and United States Governments to resolve the longstanding conflict on the Korean peninsula.
The Republic of Angola has always defended in all international forums the need to guarantee peace and security throughout the world, so that we can leave a positive legacy for future generations.
Once again, thank you for the words of Ambassador Najah Abdul Rahman, Dean of the Diplomatic Corps, and wish you all a Happy Year of 2019!
Thank you for your attention.

(Unofficial english translation)