Luanda – Exports of goods and services from Portugal to Angola reached €2.2 billion in 2023, placing the European country as the second main supplier to the Angolan market, after China.
The information was provided this Friday, in Luanda, by the Portuguese ambassador to Angola, Francisco Alegre Duarte, during a lecture on “The April Revolution: Turning point in the Portugal/Angola ties”.
The Portuguese diplomat stated that almost five thousand Portuguese companies export to Angola and there are more than 1,250 companies with Portuguese or mixed capital, investing in almost all sectors of the Angolan economy.
He said that construction companies are the “spearheads” of the Portuguese presence in the Angolan economy, employing thousands of workers, the vast majority of whom are Angolan citizens.
He also mentioned companies in the agri-food, agribusiness, renewable energy, manufacturing, banking, information technology and telecommunications, metalworking, water and sanitation, pharmaceutical sector, among others.
In all these sectors of activity, the diplomat highlighted, these companies, in addition to creating many thousands of jobs, direct and indirect, form human capital and generate shared wealth, based on work.
He said that the focus of his work in Angola is to help attract more Portuguese investment and reverse the trend of decreasing Portuguese business presence, which occurred during the years of economic recession in Angola.
“I have tried to do so. And with this aim in mind, I have reiterated that the most effective way of attracting new companies is to support those that are already in Angola and that have remained here in good times and in bad times”, he asserted.
In his opinion, it is important to take care of fundamental aspects for investors, such as the predictability of payments, repatriation of capital and juridical security.
“We trust and believe in Angola. It was in this sense, in fact, that we gave an important signal in 2023, with the extension of the ceiling of the financing line, under the Portugal-Angola Convention, from €1.5 to €2 billion euros”, stated Francisco Alegre Duarte.
The Portuguese-Angola relationship, established in 1976, is characterized by political dialogue and regular high-level visits, thus demonstrating the common desire to deepen the relationship between the two states, with mutual benefits for their people.
In recent years, more than 60 bilateral instruments have been concluded in the most diverse areas.
With the signing of the new Strategic Cooperation Program 2023-2027, cooperation with Portugal, in the coming years, in addition to traditional areas such as education, health, justice, defense and internal administration, will extend to new sectors such as tourism, public administration, digital transition and the blue economy.
Angola is the third largest economy in Sub-Saharan Africa, the second largest oil producer on the African continent and a country rich in natural resources.
It is one of Portugal's main commercial partners, being the 9th customer of Portuguese goods and the 11th supplier to Portugal.
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