Portuguese Minister says entrepreneurs are dedicated to development in Angola

The development agenda of the Angolan government is highly being looked upon by the Portuguese businesspeople, the Portuguese Minister of Foreign Affairs, Augusto Santos Silva said.

The Portuguese top diplomat was speaking to the press at the end of a meeting between the President of Angola, João Lourenço and his Portuguese counterpart, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, in Mozambique’s capital, Maputo that is aimed at discussing political, economic and social cooperation.

In Maputo, the Angolan and Portuguese statesmen attended the inauguration ceremony of Mozambique Head of State, Filipe Nyusi, who was re-elected for constitutionally-mandated second term, ahead of the Portuguese Speaking African country. The expectations of the Portuguese business community includes the country’s economic agenda, with stress to the privatisation process of Angolan state-owned firms, Augusto Santos Silva said.

According to him, the governments of two countries enjoy strong relations based on contacts between the Ministries of Finance of Angola and Portugal, highlighting the two tax administrations. The meeting was also attended by Manuel Augusto, the Foreign Affairs Minister, who explained that in addition to the interest in privatisations of Angolan companies, there is also another visible sector that is linked to the decrease of Portuguese exports to Angola.

The appeal of the government of Angola to Portuguese businesspeople is to focus more on production rather than exports has been positive, said the top diplomat.