Angolan Government has been working hard to tackle difficulties caused by the economy’s exposure to the external shocks worsened by COVID-19 pandemic that seriously affected the people’s living conditions, the head of State João Lourenço has pledged on Monday.
“We believe in the success of the measures adopted by the Government”, said the Angolan Statesman.
João Lourenço was speaking at the opening ceremony of official talks between Ministerial delegations from Angola and Cuba, as part of the three-day State visit of the Cuban President, Miguel Díaz- Canel, to Angola.
According to President João Lourenço, Angola and Cuba have common concerns related to the fight against poverty and economic and social development.
“I believe that this convergence of objectives puts us in a privileged position to understand each other and think of common strategies that will help us to jointly overcome all the challenges related to issues of development, progress and the well-being of our populations”, he added.
João Lourenço said it was importance to think of practical mechanisms that facilitate exchange between both countries at all levels, with emphasis on free trade, complementarity in the use of available resources, transfer of technical, technological and scientific knowledge and the priority in terms of implementing industrialisation projects for nations, based on the sustainable use of raw materials and other available resources.
In his speech, the Angolan head of State recognised the struggle that Cuba is waging on a daily basis in the face of the embargo to which it has been subject to for decades, “but which, despite this, has revealed an impressive level of resilience and capacity to find solutions that guarantee the survival of the Cuban people and the preservation of independence”.
He noted that the Angolan Government, in line with the position of a large part of the international community, defends the lifting of the economic blockade to which this country has been subject for decades.
“We believe that without the embargo, Cuba and the Cuban people will define for themselves the political and economic model that meets the aspirations of freedom, justice and economic and social development and will maintain commercial exchanges and relations of economic cooperation with all countries on the basis of the reciprocity of advantages”, he underlined.
World peace
In this regard, the Angolan President advocated that peace, the common goal pursued by all nations on the planet, has not yet been achieved.
He noted that it is the sad reality that persists in Africa, the Middle East, Asia and, more recently, in Europe, with the outbreak of war between Russia and Ukraine that has generated an unprecedented food and energy crisis and with serious consequences for the economies and well-being of peoples.
In his view, this last conflict has shown the fragility of the institutions created to guarantee world peace and security and their impotence to ensure respect and fulfillment of the peoples’ right to Independence, to the preservation of sovereignty and territorial integrity, as enshrined in the International Law and the Charter of the United Nations.
Meanwhile, João Lourenço defended the urgent need for reforms in the United Nations Security Council with the entry of new actors as permanent members of this body whose composition no longer reflects the reality of the world in this 21st century.
“In view of this evidence and also in view of the unlikely military victory of any of the contenders, in order to avoid the escalation of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict beyond the borders of the belligerents, a pragmatic and realistic approach to the crisis is urgently needed, in order to find a lasting solution that safeguards peace and universal security”, defended the Angolan statesman.
Cooperation relations
Angola and Cuba maintain excellent cooperation relations in various areas such as security, education, health, transport, public works, construction, oil, sports, culture, tourism and agriculture.
The two States established diplomatic relations on November 15, 1975, four days after Angola’s Independence, and a year later they signed the General Cooperation Agreement, which gave rise to the Bilateral Commission.
Source: Angola Press News Agency (APNA)
