Portuguese Prime Minister on three-day visit to Angola

The Portuguese Prime Minister is on official visit to Angola for three days, of which we note the working meeting with the President of the Republic of Angola on the 23rd, the first day of his trip.

The aim of the visit is to strengthen political, economic, and cultural ties and make the contacts between both countries of these two sibling countries more regular and intense.

The Prime Minister travels with the Minister of State and Finance Joaquim Miranda Sarmento and the Minister of Economy Pedro Reis, as well as the Secretaries of State for Foreign Affairs and Cooperation Nuno Sampaio (representing the Miniter of State and Foreign Affairs Paulo Rangel, who is in Rio de Janeiro for the G20 meeting) and the Treasury and Finance João Silva Lopes.

The visit begins with laying a wreath at the Agostinho Neto memorial, who was the first President of Angola, followed by a working meeting with João Lourenço, while both countries’ delegations will also meet at the Presidential Palace. This will end with speeches by the two Heads of Government: Luis Montenegro and João Lourenço, and the signature of several agreements, a press conference, followed by an official luncheon.

Luís Montenegro and João Lourenço had met in Lisbon to celebrate the 50 years since the 25 of April revolution, when the Portuguese Prime Minister was invited to visit Angola. 

During the afternoon, Luís Montenegro will be visiting the Portuguese School of Luanda, São Miguel Fortress, a military fortress from the 16th century that houses the Military History Museum and will meet with the Portuguese community.

The 24th will focus on the economic side and will start with visits to two companies: Powergol, which began in Braga and operates in the field of energy and electrical equipment (with a focus on training staff), and Refriango, an Angolan leader in beverage production.

In the afternoon, the Portuguese Prime Minister will attend the Luanda International Trade Fair (FILDA) to visit the Portuguese pavilion and the stands of the Portuguese companies represented (more than one hundred), as well as Angolan companies, and will close the Angola-Portugal Business Forum on the agro-food sector, where the Portuguese Minister of Economy Pedro Reis and the Angolan Minister for Economic Coordiation José Lima Massano will also give a speech.

On the 25th, the last day of this visit, Luís Montenegro will travel to Benguela province to see the country’s most emblematic development project, the Lobito corridor, funded by the United States and the European Union.

The Lobito Corridor links the provinces of Benguela, Huambo, Bié, and Moxico has as infrastructure the Lobito port, the mining terminal, Catumbela airport and the Benguela railway, taking the connection over to the Copperbelt mining areas in Zambia, and Katanga, in the Democratic Republic of Congo, fostering swifter and more competitive exports of cobalt, among other mineral ores from these countries.

The Prime Minister will begin by meeting the Governor of Benguela Province, Luís Manuel da Fonseca Nunes, followed by a visit to the future facilities to house the Portuguese General Consulate.

Next, he will travel to Angola’s largest solar photovoltaic power plant, the Biópio plant, Lobito port, the Benguela railway and the Lobito Atlantic railway (LAR), the consortium built by Trafigura, Mota-Engil, and Vecturis, with a 30-year concession.

Luís Montenegro will return to Luanda at the end of the afternoon for a farewell ceremony at the Presidential Palace, with a statement to the press and a dinner hosted by the Portuguese Ambassador to Luanda, Francisco Alegre Duarte.