Luanda – A group of Italian investors has shown interest in strengthening business exchange with Angolan businesspeople aiming to identify investment opportunities for both countries.
The interest was expressed Thursday in Luanda during a business meeting held under the motto “Business Promotion between Angola and Italy”, in an initiative of the Private Investment and Export Promotion Agency (AIPEX).
Talking to ANGOP, the commercial manager of the Argiolas company, Maria Zuddas, considered Angola an interesting and opportune country for the Italian investors to export their products and vice-verse.
The official expects to export products such as cheese and other dairy products to Angola, with the support of AIPEX.
Paola Giodan, who is a representative of a coffee company, also showed interest in the existing business opportunities in Angola and recognized the agricultural potential of the country.
“We are very interested in entering the Angolan market, that is why we are in Angola looking for partners to distribute and produce our coffee locally”, said the official.
To the office director of the state-owned airline of Italy (ITA Airways), Maria Merlino, the business Exchange between Angola and Italy can help to bring the business community in both countries closer together by providing at the same time conditions for trade balance growth.
On his turn, the AIPEX’s CEO, António Henriques stated that the meeting between the Angolan and Italian businesspeople was useful, taking into acount that the investors showed interest in looking for partners in sectors that are mutually advantageous for both countries.
Among the various areas of common interest, the also Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Special Economic Zone (ZEE) Luanda-Bengo also noted agriculture as the sector that could provide an opportunity to boost business cooperation between Angola and Italy.
Without mentioning the volume of the Italian investment in Angola and vice-versa, António Henriques considered that the exchange between the investors of both countries still falls short of its potential.
“We should promote more meetings of this kind, to attract more Italian investors to Angola, taking into account the economic potential and opportunities in the two countries”, added the official.
According to the manager, in ZEE we do not yet have Italian companies operating directly, but it has factories with national and foreign capital assembleing Italian-made equipment.
In addition to the business meeting between Angolan and Italian businesspeople that aimed to share experience and demonstration of investment opportunities, AIPEX also promoted Wednesday a similar event with a delegation of South African businesspeople.
The respective companies are in Angola to take part in the Luanda International Fair (FILDA), rescheduled for Saturday (16 July), in the ZEE.
Initially FILDA was scheduled to happen from 12 to 16 this month but it was postponed due to the national mourning for the passing last Friday (8) of former President of the Republic, José Eduardo dos Santos, in Barcelon, Spain, victim of an illness.
