The Heads of State of Angola, José Eduardo dos Santos, and of France, François Hollande, expressed a common desire to strengthen the bilateral relations between their two countries at a meeting held in the Angolan Presidential Palace.
PHOTO: PEDRO PARENTE
Speaking to the press after the meeting, the Angolan President, José Eduardo dos Santos, said that the two sides also expressed interest in exploring ways to better use the opportunities provided by the 1986 General Cooperation Agreement and other specific agreements.
José Eduardo dos Santos also said that the meeting discussed political and security issues of concern to Angola and the region. The President added that France’s support for Africa in the fight against terrorism and the preservation of peace, was also part of the agenda of the meeting.
François Hollande, highlighted in particular the role played by his Angolan counterpart, José Eduardo dos Santos, in resolving the conflict in the Central African Republic.
The French leader visited Angola from 3 to 4 July at the invitation of his Angolan counterpart, José Eduardo dos Santos.
At least 12,400Km of the main network of roads has been repaired since 2005, according to the Director -General of the Angola Roads Institute (INEA), António Resende.
Speaking at a workshop on “Works and Their Stages in the Construction Sector”, António Resende said that another 7,800km of roads are currently being repaired leaving remaining just 5,600Km of roads to complete the entire the rehabilitation of the 26,000Km long main road basic network.
António Resende added that under the Road Infrastructure Rehabilitation Program, 233 bridges have already been repaired, another 327 are currently underway. He also highlighted that there is a total of 900 bridges throughout the country that need to be rehabilitated.
According to Luís Mourão da Silva, CEO of the Electricity Regulatory Institute (IRSE), the National Electrification Program will bring electricity to 86 municipality throughout Angola by 2017.
Speaking at the Conference on Energy Development for the Community of Portuguese Speaking Countries (CPLP), Silva added that by 2025 Angola’s electrification rate will go from the current 33% to 60%.
Under the national Development Plan (PND) for 2013 – 2017, the country’s energy sector has set aside $3.3 billion for renewable energy and rural electrification projects.
The Embassy of the Republic Angola in Japan in close cooperation with the Ministry of Economy of the Republic of Angola held in Luanda from March 9 to 11, 2015 the second Angola-Japan Business Forum. This event came as a follow up to the Angola-Japan Business Forum held in Tokyo in September 4, 2013.
The forum featured presentations by top Angolan government officials including the Minister of Economy, Minister of Agriculture, Minister of Transports, Minister of Tourism, Minister of Energy and Water, Minister of Industry, Minister of Geology and Mines, State Secretary for External Relations, State Secretary for Cooperation and the CEO of the National Private Investment Agency.
From left to right: H.E. Augusto da Silva Tomas, Minister of Transports, H. E. José María Botelhos de Vasconcelos, Minister of Oil and H.E. Abrahão Pio dos Santos Gourgel, Minister of Economy.
The event aimed at 1) providing an opportunity for Japanese companies to see for themselves the huge business opportunities that Angola offers in several sectors; 2) Providing an opportunity for Japanese companies to network with top officials from the Angolan government and 3) Creating an opportunity for greater interaction between business, financial institutions and investment promotion agencies of the two countries.
The business forum attracted more than 300 participants from the public and private sectors. The Japanese delegation which was headed by Ambassador Norio Maruyama, the Director-General of the African Affairs Department at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, included 124 businessmen and officials representing JBIC, JICA, JETRO, NEXI, Keidanren as well as 34 companies.
Ambassador Maruyama exchanging views with H.E. State Secretary for External Relations, Manuel Augusto
The first day of the event consisted mainly of presentations about business opportunities in Angola and the second and third days were reserved for bilateral meetings between Angolan Ministers as well as CEOs of public companies and Japanese businessmen. Such meetings provided excellent opportunities for Japanese businessmen to directly present to top government officials the know-how of their respective companies which can play an important role in the Angola National Development Plan (PND) as well as in the diversification of its economy.
Overall, the Angola-Japan Business Forum was a great success as it turned a new page in the Angola-Japan bilateral ties. The Embassy of the Republic Angola in Japan, for its part, will continue to work with all the stakeholders, both in Angola and Japan, so that measurable results from the forum can be witnessed in the near future.
MINISTER OF TERRITORY ADMINISTRATION, BORNITO DE SOUSA / PHOTO: HENRI CELSO
The Angolan National Program of Urbanization and Housing aims to provide to the population, by 2017, about 213,000 houses and 14 new towns across the country to reduce the huge housing deficit.
The information was released by the Minister of Territory Administration, Bornito de Sousa, at the closing ceremony of the 3rd International Conference on Real Estate held in Luanda.
The Angola Liquefied Natural Gas project (Angola LNG) is expected to resume its works by the end of this year, as the technical issues that stalled the project have been overcome.
The plant, located in the City of Soyo, Zaire Province, is currently undergoing an overall technical evaluation as well as improvements to its entire system.
According to the National Director for Petroleum, Mr. Amadeu Azevedo, the plant aims to increase its current production capacity from 1.8 million b/d to 2 million b/d by 2017.
CHAIRMAN OF KIMBERLEY PROCESS, BERNARDO CAMPOS / PHOTO: JOAQUINA BENTO
Angola will host on 22-26 June in Luanda, the meeting of the intercession of the Kimberley Process (KP) that will bring together more than 200 delegates from 82 countries.
The event which has been held annually since the founding of the Kimberley Process (KP) in 2003, aims at assessing the activities undertaken thus far as well as to prepare the issues to be discussed at the plenary session which will be held in November in the Angolan capital.
The Kimberley Process is an international certification scheme that regulates the trade of rough diamonds by preventing the flow of diamonds from conflict and war zones. Angola chairs the Kimberley Process since January 2015.
The Defence Minister of the Central African Republic (CAR), Marie Noel Kuoyara, thanked on June 5th, in Luanda, the Angolan Government’s support for her country to achieve political stability.
Speaking to the press following a meeting with her Angolan counterpart, João Manuel Gonçalves Lourenço, Kuoyara said that RCA and Angola are brother countries as it was seen during the period of crisis in her country, where Angola helped.
She said that her country has a lot to learn from Angola, because Angola also had its difficult moments but could overcome them and now has been achieving visible progress.
Marie Noel Kuoyara added that thanks to the support from the international community, particularly from the Angolan President José Eduardo dos Santos, CAR held a national forum, which has enabled Central Africans to follow the paths of peace.
“We are currently in a peace process and we ask God that it may prevail so that the country can develop”, added the CAR minister.
The CAR Defense Minister made a stopover in Luanda, after attending a conference on peace and security at the UN headquarters.
Source: ANGOP
LOGÓTIPO DA SADC / PHOTO: FOTOS DE FRANCISCO MIUDO
A forum of the heads of the parliamentary groups of the ruling parties in the SADC region, was held on June 3 – 4, in Luanda. The forum aims to become a privileged venue for the ruling parties in Southern Africa region to discuss and seek joint solutions for issues affecting the region’s peoples and governments.
During the event, matters such as democracy and development as well as conflict prevention in the SADC region were discussed. Economic integration policies and movement of people and goods and their constraints were also discussed at the forum, which was held under the theme “Democracy and Security in the SADC Region”.
Virgílio de Fontes Pereira, head of the parliamentary group of the ruling MPLA party, said that Angola assumed with pride and responsibility the opportunity to host the forum.
The head of the parliamentary group of the ruling SWAPO party in Namibia, Taeyele Evelyn, suggested holding annual forums to share ideas and programs to improve the living conditions of the populations in the SADC region.
Source: ANGOP
JOSÉ SILVA, MINISTRO DO URBANISMO E HABITAÇÃO / PHOTO: CEDIDA PELA FONTE
The Republic of Angola, through its Ministry of Urbanization and Housing, was elected on May 25, in New York as a member of the governing board of UN-Habitat, for a four-year term, starting on January 1st, 2016.
Angola will fill one of two vacancies to be opened in the Southern African region, with the end of the mandates of South Africa and Lesotho, on December 31, 2015.
Nigeria, Kenya and Chad are the other African countries also elected to the same body, covering their regional vacancies.
For Asia and the Pacific, Bahrain and India were elected, for Eastern Europe (Georgia and Serbia), for Latin America and the Caribbean (Brazil, Chile and Mexico) and for Western Europe and other States (Germany and Sweden).
Source: ANGOP
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