Prague - The Angolan Head of State, João Lourenço, stated on Wednesday, in Prague, that the potential for developing relations between Angola and the Czech Republic is quite large, but reasons of various kinds prevented its full exploitation.
João Lourenço was speaking during a gala dinner, hosted by his Czech counterpart, Petr Pavel, on the occasion of his official visit to the Czech Republic.
“The objective of our visit is to reinforce the traditional ties of cooperation and friendship between our two States, the potential for the development of our relations is quite large, but for various reasons we have not been able to exploit it to the fullest”, he said.
The Angolan statesman expressed, in all the meetings he held with local authorities, his interest in reversing this situation and from now on making the most of the increase in cooperation.
On the Czech side, João Lourenço said he found great openness and reciprocal interest in developing ties of friendship and cooperation for the benefit of both countries.
The first ladies of Angola and the Czech Republic, the delegations accompanying the two Heads of State and several guests attended the dinner.
In Prague since Tuesday, the President of Angola witnessed the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding on Political Consultations, which aims to reinforce bilateral cooperation, which began in 1993.
Still on the first day of the visit, the Head of State, João Lourenço, was received at the Prague Palace, with military honors, by his counterpart from the Czech Republic, Petra Pavel, with whom he held a private meeting, then went to the Senate and to the Chamber of Deputies and also held a meeting with the Czech Prime Minister, Petr Fiala.
João Lourenço leaves the city of Prague today, Thursday, February 22nd.
The Czech Republic is a country in Central Europe whose capital is the city of Prague, the country's main tourist destination, with a population of more than 10.7 million inhabitants, adopted a market economy, centered on commerce and industry, based in international trade and the automobile industry.
Political-diplomatic relations between Angola and the Czech Republic date back to the Cold War period, before the dismemberment of the Slovak Republic, both formed what was then Czechoslovakia, disintegrated on January 1, 1993, when it was part of the Soviet socialist bloc. MR/VC/CF/DOJ