Ashraf Siddiqui
Doha
Bilateral cooperation between Angola and Qatar has evolved significantly in recent years, the country’s Ambassador in Doha, HE Antonio Coelho Romos Du Cruz, has said.
The Angolan envoy was addressing a reception he hosted at Hotel Grand Sheraton Doha to mark his country’s 49th National Independence Day.
The evolution in bilateral ties, the envoy noted, was made possible by the cooperation agreements and protocols signed in course of the September 2019 official visit of President João Manuel Gonçalves Lourenço to Qatar, during which the Amir His Highness Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad AI Thani encouraged Qatari businessmen to invest in different sectors of the Angolan economy. Cooperation between the two countries is broadly based on the areas related to the eight legal instruments signed.
The reception hosted by the Angolan envoy was graced by Minister of Communication and Information Technology HE Mohammed Al Mannai; HE Ambassador Ibrahim Fakhro, director of Protocol Department, Ministry of Foreign Affairs; Khalifa Al Sherif, acting director of the African Affairs, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and a number of diplomats and guests.
HE Du Cruz listed the sectors considered priority and attractive for foreign investment in Angola such as oil and gas, infrastructure, energy, mining, agriculture and tourism. He pointed out that his country offers significant incentives including tax cuts to investors.
“At the regional and international levels, Angola stands by peace and lends its experience and support to the search for peaceful solutions to existing conflicts in Africa, particularly in the DRC and Sudan. It has also followed the evolution of Ukraine war and the escalation of the conflict in the Middle East with equal concern,” the envoy said.
“The Republic of Angola reiterates the need to find the best ways to achieve definitive peace in these troubled regions of our planet, based on respect for the International Law and the resolution of the Security Council of the United Nations, as well as the need to vacate the Palestinian territories and the creation of the Independent and Sovereign State of Palestine,” HE Du Cruz said.
Quoting from last October’s State of the Nation message of President João Lourenço, he said that the world cannot accept that the daily deaths of civilians in Gaza, the West Bank, and Lebanon in numbers that were already frightening, were beginning to be seen by the world public opinion as something normal, about which there is nothing to be done.
“The world must stand up in unison for an end to these wars, in defence of the human lives that are being lost, in defence of peace and security in Africa, Europe and the Middle East, because of the direct repercussions they have on the whole world.”
He praised the efforts made by Qatar to mediate for the resolution of the conflict in the Middle East, to achieve regional peace and global stability.
“In Angola, we have learned from our own conflict that there is no lasting peace without dialogue based on concessions between the parties. Therefore, in the case of the current conflict in the region, we believe that the need to vacate the Palestinian territories and the creation of a Sovereign State of Palestine alongside the State of Israel appears to be the right way to put an end to the decades-long conflict once and for all, promoting good and friendly relations.”
He added, “Finally, on this special occasion as we celebrate Angola’s Independence Day, marked on November 11, we congratulate Qatar on the high level of capacity it has shown in hosting major international events, especially in recent years, a reflection of its dynamism and development, which has contributed to raising the country’s prestige and good name.”
The Republic of Angola and the State of Qatar share many similarities, the most important being that Qatar has one of the largest natural gas reserves in the world, and is currently the world’s largest exporter of liquefied natural gas (LNG), in addition to proven oil reserves, that will enable its production to continue at current levels for several more decades.
“Qatar is also a hub of regional and international politics and diplomacy,” he noted.
For its part, Angola has one of the largest reserves of oil and natural gas on the African continent. It is also one of the largest producers of this commodity in Africa, as well as being the holder of a range of strategic minerals and the second largest country in terms of water resources in southern Africa, with a mild climate and arable land throughout its territory.
Like Qatar, Angola is also one of the political hubs of sub-Saharan Africa, where its President João Manuel Gonçalves Lourenço, as Champion for Peace and Reconciliation in Africa, a mandate given by the African Union, has been developing a series of initiatives limited to the Great Lakes Region and extended to all areas of the African continent where situations of insecurity and conflict persist.
