Luanda — South African ambassador to Angola Oupa Ephraim Monareng highlighted Tuesday the President João Lourenço's effort to search for peace and stability of the Great Lakes Regions and SADC.

The diplomat expressed such recognition at the end of a meeting with the Speaker of the National Assembly, Carolina Cerqueira.

In view of his commitment to peace on the continent, mainly the framework of the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region (ICGLR), the Angolan Statesman was, in 2022, named African Union "Champion for Reconciliation and Peace in Africa".

Oupa Ephraim Monareng also congratulated Angola on taking over the rotating presidency of the Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) in August and guaranteed his country's support during the Angolan presidency in the regional body.

The diplomat reiterated the South Africa's commitment to increasingly deepen cooperation with Angola.

He explained that, through diplomatic channels, the two governments are working on the visit of the President João Lourenço to South Africa this year, which was initially planned for July 21.

The ambassador described the two countries relations as historic, having acknowledged the contribution of the people and government of Angola during the struggle against colonialism and apartheid in South Africa.

Still Tuesday, the Speaker of the National Assembly, Carolina Cerqueira, received the ambassador of Morocco to Angola, Saadia El Alaqui.

The diplomat said that in the meeting with her interlocutor they reviewed the state of bilateral relations and Parliamentary cooperation, having assured technical support from her country during the 147th General Assembly of the Inter-parliamentary Union (UIP) that Angola will host this year.

Angola is the first African State and the second Portuguese-speaking one, after Brazil, to organise the biggest event of Parliaments in the world, expected to gather 1,500 foreign delegates. DC/AL/DAN/NIC