Lubango - Israel's ambassador to Angola, Shimon Solomon, has expressed his country's interest in investing in agriculture and water management in Huíla, using technology.
The diplomat, who is making a three-day visit to the southern province of Huíla for the first time since he began working in Angola in February 2022, was speaking during a meeting with the deputy governor of Huíla for Political, Economic and Social matters, Maria João Chipalavela.
Shimon Solomon said that Israel is a country of initiative, because much of its territory is desert and yet it manages to produce, so it wants to share this technology with Huíla, with the country and other regions of Africa, so that everyone can develop.
He revealed that Israel can cooperate with governments in the field of agriculture, adding as an example that the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has sent some of its citizens to Israel to exchange experiences and receive some training.
The diplomat informed that he believes in working in cooperation with the Huíla government so that, when the opportunity arises, his government would send some people to Israel with the aim to gain experience linked to agriculture, security, climate and other areas, so that then they come back to share the knowledge received.
The ambassador emphasised that in Luanda there are at least 35 graduates trained in Israel as part of cooperation with his government, and that they can gain a lot from this cooperation, so he hopes that it will be better with Huíla, in order to achieve great goals.
He said that Israel is a small country with almost no natural resources, but that it has created opportunities and technologies to maximise production, a technique that they want to share with Angola, particularly in Huíla.
One of the techniques that his country wants to share with Angola is the management of water resources, because in Israel it rains for a short time, but manages to store water to serve throughout the year, as well as recycling the liquid for convenient use.
To him, cooperation in the private sector is possible by strengthening ties with Israeli businesspeople, who can act as a link, so that they can work with private agencies to also invest in Huíla, on the issue of seeds, water management and other aspects in which they already have some experience.
Shimon Salomão emphasised that there is already cooperation between the Israeli and Angolan private sectors, but they want to increase ties with the government a little more so that there can be more collaboration, thus increasing the number of Israeli companies investing in Angola.
He emphasised that during his almost two years at the embassy, cooperation between the two countries has been growing, since more than 10 Angolan ministers and secretaries of state have visited Israel and more than 35 Israeli delegations have visited Angola.
In turn, the deputy governor of Huíla for Political, Economic and Social sector matters, Maria João Chipalavela, emphasised that the province is essentially centred on the agricultural and cattle breeding sectors, with great potential in cereals and fruit trees.
She said that the province also stands out for its academic training potential, but interest has shifted to vocational training and they know that Israel has a special interest in this area that they would like more support for.
Israel's ambassador to Angola, Shimon Solomon, has been in Huíla since Tuesday and plans to stay for 72 hours. During this period, his work schedule consists mainly of visits to the Evangelical Synod Church of Angola (IESA), where he visited the premises of the religious institution. This afternoon he will visit some local tourist sites.
EM/MS/MRA/jmc
