Luanda - President of the Federative Republic of Brazil Luiz Inácio "Lula" da Silva Friday expressed his country's commitment to inaugurate a new strong agenda with Angola that will serve as a model for other countries.
The Brazilian statesman was speaking at the National Assembly, as part of his state visit to Angola, aimed at strengthening bilateral cooperation.
Lula da Silva, who was accompanied by the first lady, Rosangela Lula da Silva and Brazilian parliamentarians, emphasised that Brazil is proud to have contributed in Angola with the financing of roads, sanitation, water supply, generation and distribution of electrical energy.
He said that Brazil has the conditions to once again be a great partner of Angola in its development, based on the strengthening of agriculture, industry, scientific and technological progress, energy transition, protection of the environment and biodiversity.
According to President Lula da Silva, the programme for irrigated regions and policies to support family farming in the Cunene river valley will be the hallmark of this new phase of cooperation with Angola.
Formulated with Angolan bases and demands, said the statesman, the initiative will strengthen the planning of water resources and the organisation of production chains in that province.
"It will make it possible to transform irrigated land into sources of resources for food security and social development", he maintained.
The province of Cunene is the region of Angola with the greatest risk of desertification and, in fact, the Brazilian President congratulated the Angolan Government on the success of the works to transfer the waters of the Cunene river, "which brings hope to the population of that region".
Another challenge that the two countries need to face together, he said, is that of finding new sources of energy that can curb the devastating effects of climate change.
Praise for the champion of peace in Africa
Lula da Silva praised the fact that the African Union (AU) had awarded President João Lourenço the title of "champion for peace and reconciliation in Africa", considering it a fair recognition for his role as mediator in the crisis between Kinshasa (DRC) and Kigali (Rwanda).
For these and other credentials, he said that he invited President João Lourenço to participate in the next G20 Summit that will take place in Rio de Janeiro (Brazil) in November 2024.
"It will be a very important occasion for us to discuss, together, issues such as economic coordination and the reform of global governance", he stressed.
He noted that Brazil has Angola as a partner and a friend and, for that reason, "we are proud to be the first country in the world to recognise independent Angola and to be part of the modern history of this country".
He noted that, with this historic visit to Angola, "Brazil is back in Africa".
Parliamentary cooperation
Brazil’s president underlined that cooperation between the two parliaments will help to further strengthen the bilateral relationship.
"Brazil sees the African continent as a whole and Angola, in particular, a close neighbour, we have deep similarities and affinities and we are united (...) by the Atlantic" said the Statesman, highlighting the fact that more than half of the 213 million of Brazilians recognise themselves as Afro-descendants.
He expressed his satisfaction at seeing the Angolan Parliament being led by a lady, Member of Parliament Carolina Cerqueira, to whom he wished success in this noble mission.
"I am very pleased to see a woman, the MP Carolina Cerqueira, leading this house. All of us, elected representatives of the people, devote deep respect to parliament and this reflects our sincere belief in the virtues of democracy", he said.
He also thanked the people and Government of Angola for their support when his country experienced, on 8 January this year, "the attempted coup against the headquarters of the three powers".
During his intervention, he appealed to the need for a fraternal dialogue with people with different positions.
"We learn to dialogue because this overcoming of the relationship between human beings is what allows democracy to be so extraordinary that it allowed, in my country, a mechanical tournament to reach the presidency of the Republic", he stressed.
Cooperation between Angola and Brazil began to take shape on June 11, 1980, with the signing of the Economic, Scientific and Technical Cooperation Agreement.
Under this agreement, the two countries developed bilateral cooperation in the areas of health, culture, public administration, professional training, education, environment, sports, statistics and agriculture. DC/AL/ADR/NIC
