Luanda - Angolan head of State João Lourenço said on Monday in Soyo, northern Zaire province, that the country should focus on the construction of shipyards for the maintenance of the fleet and start building warships.
Delivering his speech, ahead of celebration of the 47th anniversary of the Angolan Navy (MGA), João Lourenço said that the construction of warships in the country will represent the start for the Angolan Naval Industry.
João Lourenço, who is also Commander-in-Chief of the Angolan Armed Forces
(FAA), also called for the need for the country to invest in more maritime bases to house the fleet that tends to grow in number and size of vessels.
In his speech, he said that by its location, along with other States in the Central and Southern regions of Africa, Angola must be prepared to contribute to the security of the Gulf of Guinea, an important maritime route for international trade.
He noted that the Navy has the responsibility for defending the territorial waters against any external threats, maritime piracy, illegal fishing and the depredation of the immense national wealth at sea.
With the achievement of peace, he said, the country should focus on strengthening of the Angolan Navy (MGA), with land infrastructure, maritime vessels of all categories and surveillance systems, in order to ensure protection of the coast.
Still, as part of modernisation process, the Commander-in-Chief of the FAA spoke of the construction of three modern support corvettes as having been ordered and the acquisition of two Airbus C-295 aircraft.
The means are due to arrive later this year, equipped for reconnaissance and maritime surveillance.
He added that the Angolan State is negotiating the possibility of acquiring more naval assets. The Statesman praised the re-inauguration Monday (10) of the Naval Base in Soyo municipality, northern Zaire province, and the exhibition of new patrol, interception and military transport vessels.
The president praised the role of the Armed Forces, since the achievement of national independence, in the defence of the country's sovereignty by defeating
and expelling the army of the apartheid regime in South Africa. JFS/SC/ADR/TED/NIC
