Angolan leader João Lourenço is meeting Monday, in Luanda, with Portugal’s Prime Minister, António Costa.
João Lourenço received the Portuguese Premier in a welcoming ceremony with military honours, in which 21 cannon salutes were fired.
The Head of the Portuguese government and President João Lourenço are expected to speak to the press at the end of the meeting.
Talks between delegations of the two countries and the signing of bilateral cooperation instruments are also to take place Monday.
During the two-day visit, several bilateral cooperation agreements are to be signed, including a new strategic cooperation programme and a credit line reinforcement.
The Portuguese Prime Minister’s agenda for Monday includes visits to the Luanda/Bengo Special Economic Zone, where Portuguese businesspeople will be received.
For Tuesday, António Costa is scheduled to visit Banco Caixa Angola bank, the São Francisco do Penedo Fortress, as well as the Portuguese School of Luanda.
There is a strong presence of Portuguese companies operating in Angola in sectors such as construction and banking.
Portugal is also an important exporter of food products and beverages to Angola.
As for Angola, it is the main African investor in Portugal with activities ranging from energy, telecommunications and banking.
Considering their dynamism, bilateral relations are considered positive and have been growing over the years.
There are nearly nine thousand Portuguese companies exporting to Angola, although commercial exchanges have declined significantly in recent years, due to the difficulty in accessing foreign currency and the Covid-19 pandemic.
In the last three years, exports of goods from Angola to Portugal represented a total of 1.2 million US dollars against 4.5 million US dollars in imports.
The figure represents a negative trade balance of about 3.3 million US dollars.
Angola and Portugal established diplomatic relations on March 9, 1976.
Source: Angola Press News Agency (APNA)