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By
Kester Kenn Klomegah, head of the GNA Moscow office
Moscow, Russia, April
02, GNA – Hoping to strengthen multifaceted cooperation and reach new agreements,
Angolan President João Manuel Goncalves Lourenço, with a delegation,
went to Moscow for a four-day official working visit at the invitation of the
his counterpart, Vladimir Putin.
Thursday, João
Lourenço will meet with President Putin and hold talks on strengthening
bilateral links.
The visiting Angolan chef
would be in the State Duma, in the lower house of Parliament, and then would attend a
business forum for investors from both countries.
President Putin has
expressed confidence that the visit of President Lourenço marks a new stage in the
development of bilateral relations between Russia and Angola.
Last week, the president
Lourenço granted an exclusive interview to Russian media, Itar-TASS, and spoke
plans to build factories manufacturing weapons and Russian military equipment
for the African market.
"Regarding our military
and technical cooperation with Russia – it will continue and be deepened.
"We would like
evolve from our current state of the art buyers of Russian military equipment and
technologies to become the manufacturers and have a meeting point of
Russian military equipment in our country ".
Russia and Angola have
military and technical cooperation. In 2018, Russia agreed to supply weapons and
military equipment in Angola valued at $ 2.5 billion, including spare parts from
Soviet-made weapons, small arms, ammunition, tanks, artillery and
versatile helicopters.
In addition, there is a
number of Russian companies interested in Angola, including Mazepin which is
considering the construction of a nitrogen fertilizer plant in Angola.
Zarubezhneft plans to
in the oil and gas industry, from exploration and construction of fields to
the construction of pipeline systems and the supply of equipment to the oil
facilities.
Zarubezhneft has
already sealed a memorandum of understanding with the Angolan authorities aimed at
cooperate – exploration and exploitation of its crude oil fields.
To this end,
The consortium studies the Atlantic plateau of Angola and hopes to produce
in partnership with Angolan companies Sonangol and Dark Oil.
In addition,
a contract had been signed for the construction and financing of the Angolan national satellite
communication and broadcasting system, AngoSat.
Energiya Corporation
reaffirmed its intention to fulfill the contract which envisages the creation of a
satellite network for telecommunications and broadcasting in Angola.
In July 2018,
President Putin meets President Lourenço on the sidelines of the President's meeting
BRICS summit.
"Our job is
up to now quite modest, but in general we have good projects that can be
implemented. Our military and technical cooperation is also developing.
"We are actively cooperating
in the fields of politics, security and international organizations ",
President Putin told his Angolan counterpart.
Experts, such as
Professors Vladimir Shubin and Alexandra Archangelskaya of the Institute of
African studies in Moscow, also claimed that "Russia and Angola
still need to be more strategic in aligning their interests and more proactive
to develop effective bilateral instruments and mechanisms for
to promote economic exchanges and to take advantage of the advantages of an organization in its own right.
Partnership."
In 2016, exports of
Russia in Angola stands at 567.9 million dollars and Angolan exports to Russia
$ 14.94 million.
GNA
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