Luanda - A business delegation from the American agricultural sector, led by the Under Secretary of Agriculture for Rural Development of the United States of America (USA), Xochitl Torres Small, will visit Angola between the 28th of November and the 1st of December this year.
The announcement was made official in Washington D.C, by the Angolan ambassador to the USA, Agostinho Van-Dúnem, at the end of a meeting, Wednesday (11), with Jamie Haig, responsible for Business Missions at the US Department of Agriculture.
According to a press release from the Embassy of Angola in the United States of America, to which ANGOP has had access, Torres Small's trip, at the head of a business mission of 31 American businesspeople linked to agri-business, is an example of the investment that the Executive is making in this sector.
"We have been concerned with conveying to our American partners the need to look at food security as a factor of social cohesion, economic diversification and, above all, a factor for regional stability", said the Angolan diplomat.
Ambassador Agostinho Van-dúnem said that, in addition to American businesspeople, the US Department of Agriculture also invited businesspeople from the Democratic Republic of Congo, Zambia and Kenya who are expected to join the Angolan business class, in what is the first major American business mission to the African continent.
For the United States, Angola has a significant consumer market and great opportunities for the export of American products, such as poultry, legumes, wheat and wine. Local and American industrial partners also see opportunities for other products, including rice, soybeans, vegetable oil, beef and pork and distilled beverages, said the official.
According to the visit's work agenda, the delegation will meet with national businesspeople and those from the invited countries.
With government officials, American authorities hope to evaluate and discuss topics such as climate change, biotechnology and the Angolan Government's projects, aimed at expanding crops and livestock.
Meetings are also expected with the ministers of Commerce and Industry, Education, as well as a roundtable between the Department of Agriculture and the Angolan counterpart and businesspeople to discuss and promote environmentally friendly agriculture.
In 2022, US food and agriculture exports to Angola totaled US$236.8 million, making it the 7th largest African market for US exporters.
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