Washington – Reinforcing financing for projects that guarantee food security in Angola was one of the focuses of the Monday meeting between the Angolan delegation and the World Bank, on the first day of the annual Bretton Woods Conference, which runs until the 26th of this month, in Washington (USA).
According to the minister of Planning, Hugo Guilherme, who leads the Angolan delegation at the event, Angola also aims to count on financial support from the World Bank to invest in human capital.
When taking stock of the first day of the meetings of the World Bank Group (WBG) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the minister said that the meetings that the delegation held were also centered on the strategic partnership with these financial institutions, with emphasis on the review and analysis of Angola's current portfolio.
Speaking to the Angolan press companies (ANGOP, RNA and Jornal de Angola), he said that the meetings also served to analyze the performance of projects that are being implemented in the country, with the WB support.
According to the minister, the Government of Angola expects this institution to be able to finance, above all, projects that are linked to the National Development Plan (PDN) target, with emphasis on food security and human capital, as well as transformation digital technology and financing energy connections, both nationally and continentally.
He added that support for African countries in the agricultural sector and the entire production chain is part of the World Bank's agenda, with a view to combating poverty and hunger, as well as creating jobs and increasing family income.
He highlighted that Angola also requested support for the introduction of new technologies, to increase productivity as quickly as possible.
Regarding Public-Private Partnerships (PPP), Hugo Guilherme said that Angola has the support of the International Financial Corporation for structuring these partnerships.
The minister of Finance, Vera Daves de Sousa, said that Angola intends to explore the Japanese market, with the issuance of “Samurai Bonds” (titles issued by foreigners in the Japanese market), which are available to the country, counting on the World Bank guarantee.
“We would like to deepen Angola's intention to explore the opportunities that the Japanese market offers, depending on the available and favorable financial conditions”, she highlighted.
In response to the questions raised by Angolan government officials, the WBG deputy-Chair, Victoria Kwakwa, assured that the institution agrees with Angola's projects and is available to support the country technically and financially.
She added that the World Bank plans to present its 2025 budget proposal, which estimates a 280% increase, next week, with a focus on the social sector, such as education and health.
Vera Daves gave an interview with the IMF channel called “IMFToday”, in which she discussed the challenge of debt and financing in low-income countries and emerging markets.
The Angolan delegation also includes, among other individuals, the governor of the Angola Central Bank and alternate governor at the IMF, Tiago Dias, as well as the Chair of the Angola Sovereign Fund, Armando Manuel, in addition to representatives from the national banking sector and experts.
For 6 days, the Angolan agenda foresees the participation of Victor Hugo Guilherme, Vera Daves de Sousa and Manuel Tiago Dias, as speakers of three forums that bring together investors, in a promotion of banking institutions, namely CitiBank, Deutsche Bank, Standard Chartered and Standard Bank.
The World Bank Group (WBG) Annual Meetings are a set of events that bring together influential leaders from governments, businesses, international organizations, civil society and academia, in search of solutions to the economic development and sustainability challenges facing the world.
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