Luanda — The Government of Angola and the United States of America (USA) signed this Thursday, in Washington, a military cooperation agreement "that will allow closer logistical assistance between the armed forces" of the two countries.
According to a press release, ministerial delegations met for two days in the North American capital, with a view to strengthening ties in the field of defense.
Angola wants the US to strengthen its technical and operational capacity, such as the acquisition of a state-of-the-art machine building system, transport and logistics vehicles, a bridge system, a fleet of light tactical vehicles and aircraft, among others.
The two countries, the note reads, will pursue a closer security relationship, a point that will be discussed again at the committee's 2nd meeting, to be held in Luanda, in 2025, as provided for in the memorandum of understanding signed by Angola and the United States in 2017.
The aforementioned cooperation agreement was signed by the secretary of State for Material Resources and Infrastructure of the Ministry of Defense and Veterans of the Nation, Afonso Carlos Neto, and by the Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs (ISA), Tressa Guenov.
Last week, the minister of Defense and Veterans of the Homeland, João Ernesto dos Santos, visited the Pentagon, where he met with the US Secretary of Defense, Lloyd Austin.
On the occasion, Ernesto do Santos said that Angola plans to promote African defense and security policies to achieve peace, stability, cohesion and the deepening of continental projects.
He explained that the country adopts a strategy of cooperation in bilateral and multilateral domains, with a view to its competitive rise on the international scene, increasingly preserving its interests on the continent and in the rest of the world.
Angola's strategic vision, he said, prioritizes its insertion in all possible areas of national, continental and international interests, mainly within the scope of the African regional organizations in which it is inserted and with which it has geographic, historical and cultural affinities mentioned above.
For João Ernesto dos Santos, the geostrategic and geopolitical area in which Angola is located requires special attention due to the deep historical, geographic, economic and cultural complexities of the communities mentioned above.
