Addis Ababa - Angolan President João Lourenço met Sunday in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, with his Mozambican counterpart, Daniel Chapo, to discuss aspects of bilateral cooperation.
Speaking to the Angolan press after his first meeting with the Angolan statesman since taking office as president, Daniel Chapo said that Mozambique wants to revive some of the agreements signed with Angola, with emphasis on the economic, political and diplomatic fields, for the development of both countries.
The Mozambican statesman said that "basically" the strengthening of friendly relations and cooperation between the two states was discussed during the meeting.
"Angola and Mozambique are sister countries. This year we will celebrate the 50th anniversary of our independence and we thought it was important to further strengthen our relations of friendship and cooperation, especially economic, political and diplomatic," said the Mozambican leader.
Daniel Chapo said he explained to João Lourenço, in his capacity as President of the African Union (AU), the real situation in Mozambique in political, economic and social terms, something Chapo said he had already done with Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa and Chairman of the Southern African Development Community (SADC).
The Mozambican president said he took the opportunity to congratulate Angola on its election as chair of the AU and that he expects "great leadership," recalling that the last time a Portuguese-speaking country chaired the organization was in 2003 - Mozambique - through President Joaquim Chissano.
For the Mozambican statesman, the fact that a Portuguese-speaking country will once again chair the African Union is "truly a great victory," which he said will please Mozambique because the two states are "sisters united by the bonds of language, familiarity, friendship and cooperation.
"We expect great leadership throughout this year and, as a Portuguese-speaking country, we will give all the necessary support to make Angola's presidency a success," concluded the President of Mozambique.
João Lourenço also met with the President of the Democratic Republic of Congo, Denis Sassou Nguesso, with whom he discussed issues of common interest, focusing on the situation in the Great Lakes region, particularly in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo, where the M23 rebels, supported by the Rwandan Defense Forces, have occupied the town of Boma, in the province of North Kivu.
The meetings took place on the sidelines of the 38th Summit of African Heads of State and Government, which began on Saturday and ended on Sunday, during which Angola took over the rotating presidency of the AU for one year.SR/ART/DAN/AMP
