Luanda - The Head of State, João Lourenço, Thursday in the Province of Luanda stressed the need for closer ties of friendship and the development of fruitful bilateral cooperation in several sectors between Angola and Austria.
In a congratulatory message to his Austrian counterpart, Alexander Van Der Bellen, as part of the celebrations for Austria's National Day marked today, João Lourenço said that closer cooperation aims to contribute to the well-being and progress of both countries and peoples.
The two countries formalised their political and diplomatic relations and cooperation on 14 October 1981.
The aforementioned relations, although considered timid, show potential for growth in areas where Austria has know-how and where the Angolan economy has an interest, namely health, the oil and food industry, environmental protection, renewable energies, technologies, vocational training, culture and tourism.
Economic cooperation between Angola and Austria is characterised by the granting of subsidised loans by the Austrian government worth between 3 to 7 million euros, which depends on the project the country presents and it is destined to finance the Less Developed Countries (LDC) in the sector of health, civil protection, railway lines, waste treatment, waste treatment, waste water management and drinking water supply.
In terms of trade, it highlighted the import of equipment for the Laúca hydroelectric dam, supplied by the Austrian company Andritz Hydro, which has been working with Angola since 1953, through which the import of equipment between 2013 and 2016 totalled around 200 million euros.
VM/MRA/jmc
