Luanda - A memorandum of understanding in the digital area will be signed on Friday, in Luanda, between the Governments of Angola and of the Estonia, as part of the official visit that the President of this country, Alar Karis, makes to Angola from the 7th to the 8th of this month.

The fact was announced to the press by President João Lourenço, after a meeting between the two heads of state.

Speaking to the press, the President of the Republic informed that the memorandum of understanding will focus on the area of ​​electronic governance, with the intention of both parties to identify other areas of cooperation that are of common interest for development.

He said that the visit of the President of the Republic of Estonia, accompanied by an important delegation, aims to strengthen ties of friendship and cooperation between the two countries.

The Head of State believes that the potential for cooperation between the two countries is great, remembering that Estonia is a country that, after joining the European Union, made significant leaps and stood out in many areas, including that of electronic governance, which Angola wants to take full advantage of.

He wished President Alar Karis and his delegation a good stay while they are in Angola and reaffirmed the intention and desire to see the two countries increasingly closer, judging by their identity and point of view regarding a set of issues, especially in the international arena.

In turn, the Head of State of Estonia, Alar Karis, began by thanking the reception on what is his first trip to an African country as President of Estonia, and congratulated João Lourenço, who on March 5th celebrated his 70th birthday.

Alar Karis highlighted the fact that the two countries share a lot in common that makes them identical, such as their dependence on the ocean - Angola bathed by the Atlantic Ocean abundant in marine resources and oil, which is an important source of economy, and Estonia by the sea Baltic Sea which is an exit door for international trade to Europe.

He contextualized the visit carried out by the Minister of State and Chief of Staff of the President of the Republic, Adão de Almeida, in April 2023, in which a memorandum of understanding was signed that aimed to share experience in the digital area.

The visit, he said, by the minister opened doors for the reopening of the Estonian consulate in Angola, in August 2023, remembering that next Sunday his country will be celebrating 27 years of the cooperation relationship and the next step will be the solidification of the fruitful partnership between the two states that comes to fruition with his visit.

He reinforced that the objective of his visit is to show his desire to continue working firmly to strengthen cooperation, because for him, communication, despite being geographically distant, is an important step because it allows mutual knowledge, strengthening ties to work in a coordinated way.

The Estonian President brought entrepreneurs in the digital area to Angola with the aim of sharing knowledge and expertise in these matters.

He said that since Estonia's independence, digitalization has helped them develop and strengthen the economy and has also enabled the creation of jobs, as well as the creation of public-private partnerships, including with several African countries.

He invited the Angolan authorities to take advantage of this opportunity to learn about Estonia's digitalization process and expressed a willingness to learn from Angola.

He recalled the good interactions he had with the Angolan Head of State, in September 2023, on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly where they addressed the issue of security challenges in Africa and the world.

In this regard, he said that the interests are very similar, because they are guided by peace, which is why Estonia is guided by peace and security in Ukraine.

He stated that he acknowledges and values ​​the role of President João Lourenço as Champion for Peace and Reconciliation in Africa, as well as the holding of the Pan-African forum for the culture of peace led by him.

He stressed that regional security challenges are on the agenda and are things that concern him, as well as the various crises around the world such as Ukraine, Gaza, Sudan and DRC just to name a few, so he considers it quite clear that international cooperation is very necessary to achieve world peace.

In this regard, he considers it important to work together with all partners with similar opinions in these moments of crisis, as this cooperation makes everyone stronger and allows everyone to achieve the common goal of global peace.

The European Union, he continued, is and has always been one of the reliable partners in fulfilling its promises, which is why the objective of the Africa-European Union cooperation space is the creation of an agenda of solidarity, security, peace and sustainable development and respect mutual, of which Estonia is part and has done its part to achieve this goal.

They have also discussed the situation of security and peace in Europe, and how the war between Russia and Ukraine is affecting the entire world, destabilizing food and energy prices, having appealed to President João Lourenço, to participate in discussions on the plan of peace by President Zelensky, as he considers that Angola has great knowledge in terms of peacebuilding, which he believes could be of great value.

Estonia applied for the United Nations Human Rights Council for the 2026-2028 mandate, expressing gratitude for the support provided by Angola.

He defended the protection of children's rights as a priority, as, at the same time, they protect the rights of all humanity, and praised Angola's efforts to protect the rights of children in conflict situations, which Estonia also supports.

Angola and Estonia established bilateral cooperation relations in 1991, after the dismemberment of the former Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR), in the year in which this European country proclaimed its independence.

Estonia is a small Baltic country with a population of just 1.3 million. Despite its modest dimensions, it is often cited as an example of leadership in digital governance. PA/VIC/ADR/DOJ