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Portuguese Prime Minister António Costa moments after arriving in Luanda on Monday said that Portugal and Angola have a “long” history and the focus must be on the future and not on the past.
Speaking to journalists moments after landing at Luanda’s February 4 International Airport, where he is starting a two-day official visit to Angola, Costa stressed the that much can be done in bilateral economic relations.
“There is much that we can and must do together in the very intense economic relations between our countries. Angola has the great mission to diversify its economic base, to replace many of its imports with production,” he said.
“And this is also an opportunity for many Portuguese companies to explore. We are creating a set of instruments so that economic agents from both countries can invest here and there. The agreement to avoid double taxation is one such case, the remuneration and extension of the credit line is another, but there are several objectives for this trip,” added the PM.
Asked if the visit to Angola, which is due to end on Tuesday, may be a turning point in relations between the two countries, Costa said that the focus is on the future.
“It is the continuation of a long history, but, as I have said, I think it is increasingly important to have the notion that it binds us more to the future than the past. We have to focus on the future and the future is where we have to be,” he said.
During his visit to Angola, Costa, who was received at Luanda airport by Angolan Foreign Minister Manuel Augusto, aims to quickly resume pre-2014 levels in economic relations and normalise bilateral political diplomatic contacts.
Foreign Minister Augusto Santos Silva and Minister for Agriculture, Capoulas Santos, as well as the Secretaries of State Teresa Ribeiro (Foreign Affairs and Cooperation), Eurico Brilhante Dias (Internationalisation) and Ricardo Mourinho Félix (Finance) are also travelling with Costa.
The Portuguese prime minister is also accompanied by the chairman of the board of directors of Portuguese news agency Lusa, Nicolau Santos, and state broadcaster RTP, Gonçalo Reis.
On Monday, the first day of the visit, which is a national holiday in Angola (National Hero’s Day), Costa’s schedule will mainly have an economic focus, with a closed meeting with Portuguese businesspeople operating in the Angolan market.
In addition to the meeting with businesspeople, the prime minister will also have visits with historical significance, including a trip to Luanda’s Fortress, which is home to the National Museum of Military History.
In the afternoon, the prime minister has also planned a tour of the Bay of Luanda and ends the day with a meeting with the Portuguese community resident in the Angolan capital.
On Tuesday, after the meeting, scheduled for 11.00 a.m. (same time in Portugal), between Angolan President João Lourenço and the Portuguese prime minister, the two governments are expected to sign around 10 agreements , including one to bring an end to double taxation and a memorandum for the progressive payment of debts of Angolan public entities to Portuguese companies, estimated to total between €400 and €500 million.
The governments of Lisbon and Luanda will also expand credit lines, establish a cooperation plan in the agricultural sector and sign a 2018/2022 Strategic Cooperation Programme.
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