Washington - Angola participated Monday in Washington, United States of America, in an Economic Forum to share business opportunities and promote the country's image.
The event, sponsored by the United States Chamber of Commerce and the World Bank, was held as part of the U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit running on November 13 to 15.
The event, which went under the theme "Angola, Present and Future", brought together US businesspeople, Angola and some African countries, who learned about the measures implemented by the Angolan government to improve the business environment.
The Angolan delegation shared the main gains recorded in recent years and the government's vision for the next five-year period (2022-2027).
Topics such as capital repatriation, increased promotion of the Angolan Executive's programmes and the need to share experiences were at the top of the American businesspeople’s concerns.
Speaking at the event, the minister of Economy and Planning, Mário Caetano João, informed that, between 2017 and 2021, imports registered a 2.7 billion US dollars average contraction.
According to the Angolan minister, the import contraction is due to the flexibilization of the exchange rate policy, the depreciation of the kwanza and the reduction of the exchange rate diffusion, as well as the PRODESI actions.
The minister underlined that as regard to fiscal balance for the year 2022, preliminary data show an overall surplus of 2.7 percent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and a primary fiscal surplus of 4.9 percent of the GDP.
An overall positive balance of 0.9 percent of the GDP is expected, as a result of global flows of tax revenues exceeding expenditures, the minister said, adding that for the stock of public debt in terms of percentage of the GDP, it increased in the 2017-2020 period from 65.9 percent to 133.8.
However, the minister added that the stock decreased to 82.9 percent in 2021, and is expected to fall to 56.1 percent by the end of 2022.
For the year 2023, Mario Caetano João announced that the country will continue to implement measures to preserve the sustainability of public finances, in the short and medium term.
As for the evolution of the exchange rate, Mario Joõa revealed a sharp depreciation of the local currency (Kwanza) against the USD recorded from 2017 to 2021, adding that the trend is expected to be reversed in accordance with the estimates for 2022.
The minister said a slight devaluation is expected due to the slowdown in oil prices in the year 2023.
The Finance minister, Vera Daves, spoke of the government’s strategies to improve the business environment.
Speaking to the press at the end of the meeting, the minister explained that the forum, besides promoting Angola's image, aimed to understand the main concerns of the US businesspeople.
The minister said she took good note of the concerns and promised to invite US businesspeople to Angola to get to know the companies that operate in the country and the business opportunities the country has.
As for the World Bank view on the Angolan economy, the minister said it was positive, stressing that the reforms underway in Angola have been valued.
According to the minister, the World Bank challenged Angolan authorities to continue investing in the energy, water, and communications infrastructure sectors, focusing on clean sources of electricity.
The Angolan Finance minister also said the World Bank has encouraged the country to focus on family agriculture.
