Paris - President João Lourenço's state visit to France, which began on Thursday, has made it possible to mobilize more than 430 million euros in investments for Angola, French President Emmanuel Macron announced Thursday in Paris.
Emmanuel Macron made the statement during a press conference at the Elysée Palace at the end of official talks between delegations of the two countries as part of the state visit of João Lourenço.
The French President expressed his conviction that this visit will further improve bilateral cooperation in many areas, such as the project for Angola to acquire an Earth observation satellite, as well as the development of a very comprehensive space program.
Emmanuel Macron also mentioned a project carried out by the Suez Group, which will provide water to three million inhabitants, and the commitment to build a maternity and eye hospital in Luanda.
Mentioning that the Angolan President will participate in an economic forum on Friday, the Frenchman stressed that his country is one of the main investors in Angola and that the French authorities intend to expand this cooperation in agriculture and other critical sectors.
Macron expressed the parties' willingness to talk again about the Lobito Corridor, a crucial railway infrastructure for the whole region, as it connects Zambia to the Atlantic Ocean, crossing Angola.
The French President added that among the European companies is a major French institution that represents the vast majority of the investments made in this corridor, and that France and the European Union (EU) are on the side of the Angolan authorities to make it a reality.
He also said that during his private meeting with the Angolan head of state, they discussed regional and global issues such as biodiversity, forests, as well as the United Nations Conference on Artificial Intelligence to be held in Nice in June, in which they want Africa to participate.
Macron wished the Angolan statesman success in his presidency of the African Union (AU).
He recalled that France will assume the presidency of the G7 in 2026.
Macron said that Africa is expected to be better represented in all instances, especially in the United Nations Security Council, after welcoming the role of his Angolan counterpart in promoting peace in Africa.
Regarding the Great Lakes crisis, Macron said that France supports Angolan President João Lourenço's investment in the Luanda process, while his country's priority must be to seek peace and respect for the territory of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), calling for a return to negotiations between the two countries. IZ/SC/DAN/AMP
