LUANDA, A UAE delegation has met with the President of Angola, Joao Lourenco, and a number of officials, during its visit to the Southern African country.
The visit follows on from the discussions held last December during the visit of H.H. Sheikh Hamdan bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Ruler’s Representative in Al Dhafra Region, during which he met with the Angolan President and a number of officials.
Both sides are keen to enhance cooperation in all fields and opening up new communication channels in various fields, including the political, economic, investment, trade and cultural fields, in the best interest of the two friendly peoples Dr. Sultan bin Ahmad Sultan Al Jaber, Minister of State, led the delegation, which included Sultan bin Khalfan Al Rumaithi, Under-Secretary of the Court of the Ruler’s Representative in Al Dhafra Region and Dr. Mohammad Ateeq Al Falahi Secretary-General of the Emirates Red Crescent, ERC.
The delegation also included representatives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation; Ministry of Finance, the Abu Dhabi Fund for Development; Yahsat; Emirates airline; DP World; Al Dahra; Mubadala Investment Company; Mubadala Petroleum; Masdar; Jenaan Investment; First Abu Dhabi Bank, and Abu Dhabi Shipbuilding.
The delegation delivered assistance from the Emirates Red Crescent to Angola. On the sidelines of the visit, bilateral meetings were held with a number of Angolan ministers and senior officials, including the Minister of External Affairs, the Minister of Economy and Industry, the Minister of Finance, the Minister of Agriculture and the Angola Central Bank governor.
The visit also included signing a number of Memorandums of Understanding, MoUs, between the two countries, including avoidance of double taxation.
The delegation organised a Businessmen Forum, which was attended by a number of Angolan officials. During the forum, the two sides discussed cooperation in a number of fields including food security, agriculture, aviation, investment, infrastructure, energy and mining.
On the occasion, Dr. Al Jaber said, “We conveyed the greetings of the UAE leadership to the leadership and the Government of Angola. We also emphasised the importance of building fruitful relations that will contribute to establishing a long-term strategic partnership and enhancing cooperation between the two friendly countries in various fields. During the visit, a number of cooperation agreements were signed as the first direct result of the visit of H.H. Sheikh Hamdan bin Zayed Al Nahyan to Angola last December, and we are working with the Angolan side to make further progress in building and consolidating bridges of cooperation between our two countries.”
The two sides also reviewed cooperation in various fields and ways of enhancing relations in the economic, trade, investment, agriculture, energy, transport and communications sectors, and encouraging the private sector and businessmen in the UAE to invest in Angola as well as exploring opportunities in the country.
Dr. Al Jaber stressed the importance of strengthening the relations between the two countries in various fields through intensifying visits between officials at various levels, noting that the development that Angola seeks to achieve will provide a number of opportunities for cooperation, exchange of experiences and joint investments with various investors and UAE companies that have long experience in the infrastructure and logistics sectors.
He also noted the abundance of natural resources available in Angola provides a qualitative opportunity to achieve the interests of both parties.
Dr. Al Jaber also confirmed that the UAE attaches great importance to promoting ties with the African countries and helping them to establish their infrastructure and establish joint investment projects.
Source: Emirates News Agency