Luanda - Angola-Russia joint commission discussed Monday mechanisms for repatriating dividends from Russian company, Alrosa, as part of its stake in Catoca Mining Society (SMC).
Alrosa controls 32.8 percent of the Catoca diamond mine, but it is under international sanction since the Russian Federation's invasion of Ukraine, a factor that caused the legal interruption of this company in Angola.
According to the director of the office for exchange of the Ministry of Mineral Resources, Oil and Gas (MIREMPET), Luís António, the meeting served for the parties to discuss continuity and solutions for repatriating dividends totalling 185 million US dollars.
"The parties are analysing the best mechanisms to repatriate the dividends, taking into account the sanctions that the Russian company is subject to internationally", Antonio explained.
These dividends, the MIREMPET director explained, are the result of the 2021 and 2022 financial years, respectively, and amount to 100 million US dollars and 85 million US dollars respectively.
According to Luís António, during the hybrid meeting, some proposals were presented by the parties under the perspective of sanctions, but that did not produce definitive results, and other meetings will be held.
"This meeting did not produce definitive results, so the technical groups will continue to hold meetings to reach a solution that satisfies both parties, with Angola's good faith", he said.
Antonio stressed that the important thing was to find mechanisms to continue diamond production in Catoca, which is one of the world's biggest ongoing projects. “The exit of Alrosa does not imply any project constraint on the progress of diamond exploration", he said.
The meeting, according to the official, addressed the continuity of Russian company Alrosa's stake in Catoca and also discussed the payment methods for Alrosa's dividends, specifically the dividends for 2021 and 2022.
The parties are analysing the best mechanisms to carry out this repatriation, taking into account the sanction regimes to which the company is subjected internationally.
The important thing is to find mechanisms to continue diamond production in Catoca, since this is one of the biggest projects in implementation, the official said, adding that Alrosa's withdrawal does not impose any constraints on the diamond mining project.
