The Portuguese Prime Minister concluded his official visit to Angola this Thursday, highlighting the “impeccable” institutional relations between the two countries and saying he already misses the country and its people.
Following a three-day official visit to Angola – his biggest since taking office as prime minister in April – Luis Montenegro gave an “extraordinary assessment” of the trip in statements to Portuguese media.
“I must confess that, to put it in a more sentimental or immaterial first word, we are ending the visit and already missing being here and being able to interact with the authorities and the Angolan people,” he said in a statement, flanked by two ministers who accompanied him: State and Finance Minister Joaquim Miranda Sarmento and Economy Minister Pedro Reis.
Montenegro highlighted the “very diverse and very productive” agenda, which resulted in the signing of 12 protocols and memoranda of commitment with the Angolan government in various areas such as civil protection, justice, finance, economy or vocational training.
During this visit, Portugal announced an increase in the credit line to Angola by 500 million euros (it currently stands at 2,500 million euros) and signed a legal document guaranteeing that the Institute for Employment and Vocational Training (IEFP) will begin operating in Angola to facilitate the vocational training of Angolan personnel.
For Montenegro, the relations between the two countries from an institutional point of view are “without any flaws, and from a business point of view” they create many opportunities “to promote economic and social development in Angola and Portugal.”
On the sidelines of this review, when asked about the position of the President of the Republic on national issues, Montenegro took the opportunity to highlight the agreement with Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa on deepening cooperation between Portugal and Angola.
“In fact, I am the recipient of a special hug from the President of the Republic of Angola, João Lourenço, which I will personally convey to the President of the Portuguese Republic,” he added.
Montenegro stressed that Portugal has in Angola “a friendly country, nation and government that cooperates very directly” with Portugal, considering that as a result of this visit “an absolutely excellent basis for deepening bilateral relations was created”.
“Today I mainly want to tell the Portuguese that there is a future in Angola for many Portuguese companies, and a great future in Portugal for many Angolan and Portuguese companies,” he said, summing up the visit with the word hope.
Montenegro believes that the Portuguese government is taking from Angola “an expanded set of specifications, but this is not just an exchange of rhetorical pennants.”
“This is essentially specific work, specific opportunities, specific interaction,” he emphasized.
During this trip, the Prime Minister recalled the visit to the Portuguese School of Luanda, with the aim of “defending the preservation and development of the Portuguese language” and “a very broad business program” with visits to companies and all the Portuguese “stands” at the International Fair of Luanda.
“And today we had the opportunity in Benguela and Lobito to witness several interventions by Portuguese companies in such diverse areas as energy production, renewable energy, the application of Portuguese technology and engineering (…), and we were able to witness the opportunities that are opening up in other areas of economic activity, in the agro-industrial complex, tourism, in various areas of trade and services,” he stressed.
Before wrapping up the visit, the Prime Minister and the rest of the delegation held a farewell ceremony at the Presidential Palace, which was delayed by more than half an hour due to the trip to Benguela, followed by dinner with the Portuguese Ambassador to Luanda Francisco Alegre Duarte before returning to Lisbon this evening, where he will arrive early Friday morning.