Angola will host the AfroBasket 2017 from 19 to 30 August, replacing the Republic of Congo, FIBA Africa announced on its website.
The decision comes following the withdrawal of the Republic of Congo, who pointed to logistics issues as the reason for its inability to host Africa’s flagship basketball competition.
The decision on the selection of the new host was made after a meeting in Bamako, Mali between the Angolan Basketall Federation (FAB) and the FIBA Africa board. This is the third time that Angola hosts the event (1989, 1999 and 2007).
The 16 teams competing in the AfroBasket 2017 are: reigning champions Nigeria; Angola; Morocco, Tunisia, Mali, Senegal, Cote d’Ivoire, Cameroon, Democratic Republic of Congo, Egypt, Uganda, Mozambique and South Africa. Guinea and Rwanda, received each a wild card to attend the competition.
An additional wild card will be allocated in order to select the Republic of Congo’s replacement.
Angola National Team / Photo:Clemento dos Santos
Source: ANGOP, FIBA Africa
Signing of the peace agreement in Luanda / Photo: JAIMAGENS
April 4 marks the 15th anniversary of the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding Complementary to the Lusaka Protocol between the Angolan Government and UNITA, which changed the course of events in the country’s history.
The agreement, signed in 2002 at the Palace of Congress in Luanda and witnessed by the Angolan President, José Eduardo dos Santos, and representatives of the national and international community, symbolized the end of the war, which left thousands of people displaced, mutilated and orphaned.
With the signing of the document, April 4 was decreed as a National Holiday and has became, among Angolans, a historical reference in the struggle of the people, as the date marks a decisive turning point in the political process and development of the Republic of Angola.
The date is also one of the greatest achievements of the Angolan people after the National Independence, on 11 November 1975.
The country now enjoys a just and lasting peace, a particularly important moment in its history, never experienced by the Angolan people, even in the distant past, since the birth of Angola as an independent and sovereign State.
It is a just peace because it was achieved not by the imposition of external forces but rather by the result of the efforts by Angolans who understood that there was a need to stop hostilities and to begin the process of completing the remaining tasks of the Lusaka Protocol, aimed at the establishment of peace and the ensuing reconciliation and reconstruction of the country.
For the first time a protocol, aimed at peace, was signed on the national territory, without any external mediation. This peace corresponds to the most legitimate interests of the Angolan people.
It is a lasting peace because it is being and must be consolidated in the daily lives of Angolans, through practical actions and attitudes, all of which must contribute to the irreversibility of this process.
It is the will of the Angolan people that all the factors of the past be removed, in order to build a united, solidary and mature homeland, guided by values such as national unity, democracy, freedom, social justice and respect for human rights.
With peace achieved, the Angolan people face new challenges. It is necessary to continue making efforts to consolidate peace by developing a set of actions to combat hunger and poverty.
Tolerance and respect for differences in opinion and party affiliation should also be promoted, as well as encourage the patriotic feeling of the population, especially among children and young people, and strengthen the institutions of the Democratic Rule of Law as an indispensable premise for a firm start towards the harmonious growth of the country.
As the President of the Republic, José Eduardo dos Santos said “those who truly love Peace must know how to forgive, to reconcile with their neighbors, thus contributing to a true and solid unity among Angolans, without prejudice to the differences that each can express.”
Today Angola has achieved its place in the context of the nations, at the political, economic and sports level.
Officials talks between the delegations of Angola and South Korea / Photo: Alberto Julião
Cooperation in the military, naval and education sectors between the Republics of Angola and Korea gained momentum on 31 March with the signing in Luanda of a memorandum of understanding by delegations of the two countries.
The document signed for Angola by the State Secretary for Defense Policy, Gaspar Santos Rufino and for South Korea by the Vice Minister of Defense Minister, In Moo Hwang, also includes the exchange of official visits.
Speaking at the opening of the official talks, Gaspar Rufino highlighted South Korea’s technological capability and experience in the military and defense industry. He called for the deepening and the strengthening of cooperation between the two countries. He said that there is interest from South Korea in supporting Angola, if requested, in other branches of the Angolan Armed Forces, such as the Army and the Air Force.
South Korea’s Vice Defense Minister In Moo Hwang stressed the “good climate” of friendship and cooperation between the two countries, since 1995, when South Korea contributed peacekeeping troops to Angola. He anticipates that in the African context, Angola will establish itself as a great country. “It is in peace and has economic potential.” In Moo Hwang defended the development of friendship and cooperation ties with reciprocal advantages.
South Korea’s main investments in Angola are farm projects in Lucala, Cuanza Norte province, cotton farming in Sumbe, Cuanza Sul province and the Defense and Police Security Strengthening project.
Tone Skogen, State Secretary for Foreign Affairs of Norway / Photo: António Escrivão
Angola is Norway’s main economic partner in Africa, because of the partnerships established in the oil and trade sector, said in Luanda on Wednesday, Tone Skogen, Norway’s State Secretary for Foreign Affairs.
Tone Skogen, who had a meeting with the Angolan Minister of Economy, Abrahão Gourgel, during her two-day working visit to Angola, said that the current partnership could be expanded to other economic areas, such as fisheries and renewable energy, particularly, to the hydropower sector. Angola is one of the importers of Norwegian cod.
Although optimistic about the possibility of further strengthening the economic partnership with Angola, Tone Skogen pointed out that there are some challenges that need to be resolved to expand the cooperation between the two countries.
Some of these challenges, according to Tone Skogen, are related to the access to foreign exchange, international wire transfers and current regulations that hinder the development of business in a timely manner. The issue of visas for businessmen is another aspect pointed out by Norway’s Secretary of State. Nevertheless, Tone Skogen assured that her country will continue to help Angola in the development of the oil sector.
The members of the Norwegian delegation will also hold separate meetings with the Ministers of Petroleum, José Botelho de Vasconcelos and the Minister of Fisheries Minister, Victória de Barros Neto.
Signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between the Ministry of Finance and BGK
One hundred million US dollars is the amount made available by the State Development Bank of Poland (BGK) to the Republic of Angola to finance projects in the fisheries, agriculture, transport and other key sectors of the economy.
This is the first financing of this bank to Angola, with a framework for a long-term credit line, whose terms shall be based on the Export Credits Agreement.
In order to achieve this financing, which also aims to strengthen the development of fruitful cooperation between the two countries, a Memorandum of Understanding was signed by the Ministry of Finance and BGK on Tuesday in Luanda, to expand and increase the ties between the two economies.
According to the Polish ambassador to Angola, Piotr Mysliwiec, the MOU sets forth the terms and general conditions that will govern each individual financing facility, and the specific and inherent conditions of each agreement will be subject to approval by BGK and the Export Credit Agencies of Poland and Angola.
The ambassador also added that the execution of public investment projects will be carried out by Polish companies, as contractors or subcontractors, while the choice of areas for financing will be the responsibility of Angola.
The MOU was signed by the Director of the Debt Management Unit of the Ministry of Finance, Osvaldo João and the Director of the BGK, Arkadiusz Zablotonski, and witnessed by the Secretary of State for Treasury, Mário de Nascimento and other Polish and Angolan officials.
Francisco Queiros, Minister of Geology and Mining / Photo: Joaquina Neto
The Minister of Geology and Mining, Francisco Queiros, said that according to airborne geophysical survey of Angola done under the National Geological Survey Plan (Planageo), the copperbelt of Zambia and DR Congo extends to the Angolan territory by at least 116 thousand square kilometers.
In addition to the copper belt, the minister said that the geological survey carried out within the framework of Planageo enabled the discovery of the Cunene Gabbro-Anorthosite Complex covering an area of 45 km² in the Provinces of Huíla and Cunene and extends to the Republic of Namibia.
Francisco Queiroz, who was speaking at the launching ceremony of the Association of Angolan Geosciences and Petroleum Activities Support Companies (AEAGSAP), said that knowledge of the geological and mining potential of Angola is a very useful tool for entrepreneurs of geosciences and related fields to develop their role in the mining sector in Angola.
Considering the preliminary results of Planageo, he pointed out that the Angolan government has embarked on a campaign to attract world-class investors.
“We are hopeful that in the medium term these investments will have a positive impact on changing the country’s economic base in terms of tax revenues and foreign currency sources, job creation and therefore be a sustainable alternative to oil.”
He called on Angolan businessmen to participate actively in mining investment, either through partnerships with foreign investors or through the investment funds that will be created.
President José Eduardo dos Santos (right), grants audience to GE Chairman and CEO, Jeffrey Immelt / Photo: Francisco Miudo
One billion US dollars is the amount that is being invested in Angola by the North American business group GE in sectors such as power, transportation, oil, gas and health, announced on Wednesday, in Luanda, the Chairman and CEO of the company, Jeffrey Immelt.
Speaking to the press after an audience granted by the President of the Republic, José Eduardo dos Santos at the Presidential Palace, Jeffrey Immelt said that GE will work to increase Angola’s power grid output from 1.5 to 2 Megawatts.
He described the audience as an opportunity to update the Angolan Head of State with information related to projects that GE is developing in Angola, particularly in the power and transportation sectors.
“We are going to deliver 100 locomotives to help the country in the transportation of goods, and in the exploration and production of gas,” added Jeffrey Immelt, who in January of 2015 was received by the Angolan President, with whom he discussed aspects related to investments and projects of GE in Angola.
The Angolan government is working to join the Agreement on Trade Facilitation, given its importance for the country’s economic development and the well-being of the people, said Monday the Minister of Commerce, Fiel Domingos Constantino.
According to the minister, at the level of the Ministry of Commerce, a restructuring is under way both in trade legislation and institutional terms, which will improve collaboration between the Ministry, the Central Bank of Angola and the General Tax Administration. He emphasized that such restructuring is intended to eliminate excessive administrative barriers in imports and exports, as well as to combat unlawful acts.
Minister Fiel Domingos Constantino recognizes that, at the domestic level, there are many public bodies with work related to international trade, hence the need for better coordination. He said that the establishment of a National Commission for Trade Facilitation is expected to serve as a consultative body for the Angolan government and to provide the necessary inputs for the development of operational and strategic solutions. The commission will also draw up a plan for implementation, taking into account the objectives of a broader trade facilitation reform.
The seminar on trade facilitation in Angola that is being held between January 23 and 24, in Luanda, aims to present the results of the work of the Multisectoral Technical Group, regarding the measures adopted by Angola to facilitate trade.
The Trade Facilitation Agreement of the World Trade Organization (WTO) sets forth various measures to facilitate trade such as expediting the clearance of goods, streamlining procedures and bureaucracy, while maintaining legitimate regulatory controls and overseeing the movement of goods across borders, making it more efficient.
President of the Republic, José Eduardo Dos Santos, receives Japanese Ambassador to Angola / Photo: Pedro Parente
The outgoing Japanese Ambassador to Angola, Kuniaki Ito, on Thursday, December 8, informed the Angolan Head of State, José Eduardo dos Santos, about Japan’s interest in financing agricultural projects in Angola.
Speaking after an audience granted to him by the Angolan Head of State, the Japanese diplomat said that the amount of funding will be decided after projects are identified.
Ambassador Kuniaki Ito who is at the end of his two-year mission, also expressed the interest of his country’s businessmen in investing in Angola, even though the business environment is not very favorable.
The Japanese diplomat said that bilateral relations have been enhanced for the good of both countries and recognizes that efforts are being made to improve the business environment in Angola.
The 6th Summit of Heads of State and Government of the International Conference on Great Lakes Region (ICGLR) will be held on June 14, in Luanda.
This was confirmed on Monday by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Georges Chikoti, while speaking to the press following a meeting with the Special Envoy UN Secretary-General for the Great Lakes Region, Said Djinnit.
Said Djinnit took the opportunity to praise and thank Angola for its constructive role and for the leadership of President José Eduardo dos Santos in the Great Lakes region.
The ICGLR members include Angola, Burundi, Democratic Republic of Congo, Republic of Congo, Central African Republic, Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Sudan, South Sudan, Tanzania and Zambia.
