Luanda - Angola’s minister of Foreign Affairs Téte António has considered the strengthening of cooperation in business filed with the Czech Republic a priority, aimed at establishing partnerships that allow the parties’ mutual benefits.
Téte António, who was speaking during the official talks between the ministerial delegations of the two countries on Tuesday in Luanda, invited Czech businessmen to invest in Angola and join the diversification process of the national economy.
He recalled of the Angolan Government’s commitment to structural reforms to improve the business environment to encourage the attraction of foreign direct investment with special tax benefits in the main regions of the country.
The Angolan top diplomat defended joint work to ensure bilateral cooperation in the political, diplomatic and economic fields in order to achieve the promotion, expansion and increase of political dialogue at the highest level".
"After a period of stagnation in the political-diplomatic relations between the two countries, we really believe that this is the right time to revive bilateral cooperation between Angola and the Czech Republic", he stressed.
Téte António recalled that the last visit of an Angolan government delegation to Prague, the Czech capital, headed by the Minister of Economy and Planning, Mário Caetano João, further strengthened the will of Angola to develop a fruitful relationship with the Czech Republic.
In turn, the minister of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic, Jan Lipavsky, also expressed his country's readiness to strengthen the relationship with Angola in the economic area.
"In addition to the traditional areas of cooperation, we would like to identify new areas, specifically in natural gas and agriculture", he said.
Invitation
The minister of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic gave his Angolan counterpart a formal invitation for President João Lourenço to make a state visit to that European country.
The minister of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic praised, on the occasion, the country’s role in the way it addresses the regional conflicts.
He regretted, however, the fact that his country suffered some negative consequences resulting from the conflict between Russia and Ukraine.
The minister added that his country was forced to receive about one million Ukrainian refugees, which he described as a burden for a country of about 10 million people".
The visiting agenda of the Czech Republic top diplomat includes meetings with the minister of the Economy and Planning Mário Caetano João, National Defence, Former Combatants and Veterans of the Fatherland João Ernesto dos Santos and Industry and Commerce Victor Fernandes.
Jan Lipavsky will also attend the inauguration of the "Business Seminar Czech-Angola" and a cocktail with former Angolan students trained in Czechoslovakia.
Long standing relationships
Relations between the two countries date back to the proclamation of National Independence, through the then Socialist Republic of Czechoslovakia.
With a longstanding relationship Angola and the Czech Republic have been considering the establishment of a more strong and effective cooperation in the most varied domains.
The political-diplomatic and cooperation relations between the Republic of Angola and the Czech Republic date from January 1, 1993.
In December 1999, the countries signed a Declaration on the ties between the two countries, which were strengthened in 2006, with the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding and the Cooperation Programme for Development. DC/AL/NIC
