Ayeni Olusegun
Doha
A member of Angolan parliament has welcomed investments from Qatar, commending the country as a ‘peacemaker’ in regional and global affairs.
Honourable Lourdes Caposso Fernandes, a member of the First Commission (Commission of Legal and Constitutional Affairs), praised Qatar during her participation in the Global Conference of Women Parliamentarians in Doha, hosted by the United Nations Office of Counter-Terrorism (UNOCT).
She highlighted the shared vision of peace between Qatar and Angola, backed by an enviable track record.
“What I understand is that Qatar is known as a peacemaker country. Many meetings and peace dialogues have been held here, and I congratulate Qatar. We all have to be soldiers of peace and Qatar is doing a good job of that. I will make sure that I take back lessons of this to the president of my congress,” Fernandes said.
She added that economic diplomacy is vital to the relations between the two countries, as they share the same ideals of peace.
Relations between Qatar and Angola are concentrated in the energy sector, particularly oil and gas. Qatar, one of these commodities’ largest producers and exporters, has shown interest in investing in agriculture, mineralogy, infrastructure and tourism.
“Qatar has oil and gas just like Angola. So, of course, I’m positive that economic diplomacy is ongoing. I’m confident the ambassador here and the team are working on that because foreign direct investment is always needed in countries like ours. No individual or country can do it alone,” Fernandes explained, adding that the increased frequency of four weekly flights between Doha and Luanda demonstrates the interest Angola receives.
“Investors from Qatar are very welcome in Angola. As a parliament, we want them to support Angola’s investment drive. I’m positive that there are a lot of investments from Qatar because now we have four flights between Doha and Luanda. Angola is a country of opportunities, not only in oil, gas and diamonds but also in tourism, agriculture and people.”
Commenting on the UNOCT conference themed “The Role of Women Parliamentarians in the Development, Implementation and Oversight of Counter-Terrorism and Prevention of Violent Extremism Legislation, Policies and Strategies”, Fernandes emphasised that the conference provided a platform to understand challenges and facilitate laws and solutions to terrorism and crimes against women and vulnerable populations.
“We want to understand that anything regarding terrorism in any part of the world must be addressed. We can’t ignore the bad things around us; we want to resolve them. As a young parliamentarian, this is what we aim to do, ensuring that whenever we are in the global arena, we understand the solutions to bring back to local situations,” she explained.
Fernandes also highlighted the President of Angola João Lourenço’s commitment to peace and recognition two years ago as the African Union Champion for Peace and Reconciliation in Africa and Mediator.
She also emphasised the trailblazing work of the Speaker of Angola’s National Assembly Carolina Cerqueira, who became the first woman to lead the oil-rich African nation’s legislative body.
“It’s the first time we have a woman speaker and she’s using an amazing parliamentary diplomacy strategy. We received the IPU last year, consisting of over 700 parliamentarians from all around the world. Madam Carolina Cerqueira’s strategy demonstrates that we need to work with everyone,” she added.
