Angola and Mozambique invited to African summit with UK in London

Angola and Mozambique are among 24 African countries whose leaders and businessmen the United Kingdom has invited to a summit in London from 23 to 24 April to promote trade and economic investment, the UK government said on Thursday.

The meeting aims to “strengthen the Anglo-African partnership for job creation and growth, support British and African talent in sectors such as finance and technology and encourage women’s entrepreneurship,” the executive said in a statement.

This is the second summit of this type after the first in 2020, followed by two conferences in 2021 and 2022, held virtually due to travel restrictions related to the covid-19 pandemic.

Mozambican President Filipe Nyusi attended the first event in London, but his Angolan counterpart Joao Lourenço abruptly canceled his trip because he was represented by Minister of State for Economic Coordination Manuel Nunez Junior.

The British government estimates that the 2020 summit resulted in over £6,500 million (€7,300 million) in agreements and £8,900 million (€10,000 million) in investment commitments.

Among the UK companies doing business were Matalan, which invested £25 million (€28 million) to open 11 new outlets in Egypt, and Diageo, which invested £167 million (€188 million) in Kenya and East Africa’s breweries.

The UK wants to take advantage of the opportunities created by expected strong economic growth in sub-Saharan Africa over the next two years, including in the development of renewable energy.

“In order to develop the British economy, create opportunities for growth and increase our economic security, we must deepen our ties with partners around the world,” said British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.

The Conservative leader adds that this summit “ensures that we can harness the potential of our relationship in Africa and develop our economy to be stronger, more resilient and innovative.”