Washington – The Head of State, João Lourenço, this Monday in Washington invited North American entrepreneurs to continue investing in Angola, beyond the oil and energy fields.
While speaking at a round-table with US businesspeople at the US/Angola Chamber of Commerce, the Head of State expressed his interest in attracting investment for other potential areas.
According to João Lourenço, Angola has opened doors for United States investment in agriculture and tourism, in which there is great potential to be explored and said as well that there is interest in new investments in the minerals sector, not necessarily in traditional diamonds.
To the Angolan President, it is important that the US businesspeople seek to explore in Angola rare minerals such as nickel and other minerals that are needed to produce car accumulators and other equipment.
João Lourenço also expressed his interest in the US private investment for the conservation field.
In this regard, he recalled that a year ago Angola signed a contract in the USA with the non-profit conservation organisation African Parks in order to manage the Iona National Park.
According to the Head of State, the agreement was interrupted due to the Covid-19 emergency, but there are already conditions to resume.
The Head of State understands that this project will enable the Iona National Park to have good management so that it can attract tourism for that southwestern region of Angola.
He said it was an issue he had addressed with the Administrator of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), Samantha Power.
João Lourenço said that they had analysed the possibility of replicating the project in the Lundo Luiana Park, in the Mavinga region, in the southwestern province of Cuando Cubango.
He gave assurances that whoever invests in that park will be promoting and attracting investment to Angola and about four other neighbouring countries, namely Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe and Zambia, which make up the territory of the Okavango Zambezi (KAZA) regional project.
In another domain, João Lourenço announced that Angola is negotiating with the Acrobridge company the signing of a contract for acquisition of around three hundred metal bridges to serve the civil and military areas.
He explained that the bridges would be shared between the Ministry of Construction and Territorial Planning and the Angolan Armed Forces (FAA).