Luanda - Angola is willing to cooperate with Madagascar in the field of mining, so that the country can take the greatest advantage of this sector in progress, with a view to its economic development, the President of the Republic, João Lourenço, said Thursday.
Speaking at the opening of talks between delegations from the two countries, meeting at the Presidential Palace, as part of the official visit to Angola by his Malagasy counterpart, Andry Rajoelina, he said that the island country had taken important steps to give greater visibility and relevance to the mining sector.
In this regard, he emphasised that Angola was going to put all its experience in these areas into action, since for decades they have been the engine of the national economy.
In addition to this area, President João Lourenço considered it important for both nations to develop intense cooperation in other areas such as agriculture and tourism, where the two countries can exchange knowledge to speed up the development of their economies.
He emphasised the fact that the parties had signed agreements in the fields of oil and gas, mining and energy.
To materialise these agreements, he said that the agreement to institutionalise the Bilateral Joint Commission, which will be the platform for relaunching relations, is particularly important.
The President launched a challenge to the diplomacy of the two states, so that in a short space of time they can create the conditions for holding the first session of the Joint Bilateral Commission.
He said that Andry Rajoelina's visit to Angola came just a few months after his visit to Madagascar on the occasion of his counterpart taking office, during which important aspects of co-operation were discussed.
He took the opportunity to recall the important moment of solidarity that Madagascar gave Angola during the struggle to assert national sovereignty against the onslaughts of the apartheid regime, against which everyone mobilised to pave the way for development.
During his speech, João Lourenço also spoke about peace and security on the continent, which has deserved efforts to find the best solutions to the different conflicts. ART/DAN/DOJ
