Angola’s President Joao Lourenço received Spain’s Kings Filipe and Letizia on Tuesday during their first visit to West Africa and exchanged views on the historic visit and bilateral relations.
The meeting at the Presidential Palace took place around 11:00 a.m., after the Spanish monarchs laid a wreath at the memorial dedicated to António Agostinho Neto, Angola’s first president since independence in 1975.
The kings were received with military honors and 21 gun salutes by President João Lourenço and First Lady Anna Diaz Lourenço, with whom they exchanged views on the historic visit, the first time a Spanish king sets foot in Angola, the Spanish news agency reported. Efe.
The two heads of state then held a private meeting to review bilateral relations, while the first ladies met with women civil society leaders in the African country to talk about education.
This is followed by an exchange of awards in the presence of Spanish Foreign Minister José Manuel Albarez, who accompanies the kings on their first high-level visit to sub-Saharan Africa.
The Spanish Monarch will present the Representative of Angola and his wife with the Collar and Grand Cross of the Order of Civil Merit, respectively, receiving, in turn, the Grand Collar of the Order of Agostinho Neto.
After the official lunch, which will be served at the Presidential Palace, the royal couple will attend the presentation of the Kuanza International University in October 2021 in the city of Cuito (Bie province, center) at the Banco Económico headquarters. Foundation of the Iberoamerican University (Funiber).
It is the first Iberian-speaking center of higher education, which aims to strengthen ties between Portuguese-speaking and Spanish-speaking countries.
There will also open an exhibition of the Catalan artist Joan Miro, organized by Funiber under the title “Song of the Sun and acrostatic wonders”.
The visit of the King of Spain to Angola is the first visit by a European head of state since João Lourenço began his second and final mandate on 15 September.
In early March, it will be the turn of French President Emmanuel Macron to visit the country, which was visited last month by the heads of Chinese diplomacy Qi Gang and Russian diplomacy Sergey Lavrov.
The Spanish government wants to strengthen its relationship with Angola in view of the business opportunities for Spanish companies offered by the Angolan Executive’s economic modernization plan, which includes the construction of roads, hospitals, solar and wind farms and the purchase of defense materials. .
Author: Portuguese
Source: CM Jornal
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