Luanda - The President of the Republic, João Lourenço, on Wednesday in Luanda spoke on the phone with his French counterpart, Emmanuel Macron, with whom he discussed the peace and security situation in the Great Lakes region, as well as the Summit on the Oceans, scheduled for this year in the French city of Nice, the Press Service of the Presidency of the Republic, informed.

France has maintained diplomatic relations with Angola since its independence, marked on 14 July 1789.

A first agreement signed in 1982 laid the foundations for the two countries' bilateral cooperation, which has continued to grow stronger ever since.

The relationship of the two countries has seen a second boost since the beginning of the term of President of the Republic, João Lourenço, as a result of a shared desire by the presidents to establish solid cooperation.

Since the meeting between João Lourenço and Emmanuel Macron in July 2017, the two countries have maintained an ongoing dialogue.

In this context, the French President received his Angolan counterpart João Lourenço in January of the same year at the Élysée Palace, during a two-day state visit.

On that occasion, Emmanuel Macron announced the strengthening of bilateral cooperation with Angola and announced that 430 million euros in contracts were signed during this visit.

ART/MRA/jmc