Luanda — The Portuguese Prime Minister, Luís Montenegro, arrived in Luanda this Tuesday morning for an official three-day visit to Angola, as part of strengthening bilateral cooperation between the two countries.
At 4 de Fevereiro International Airport, the head of the Portuguese government, who did not make statements to the press, received welcome greetings from the minister of Foreign Affairs, Téte António, and the provincial governor of Luanda, Manuel Homem.
According to the schedule, highlights include the signing of bilateral agreements, an Angola-Portugal business forum within the scope of the Luanda International Fair (FILDA) and a trip to the province of Benguela, country's centre-west (coast).
The agenda includes the ceremony of laying a wreath at the Agostinho Neto Memorial, the first Angola President.
A close door meeting is also scheduled with the Head of State, João Lourenço, and then between the extended delegations, which will end with interventions by the two heads of Government and a press conference.
On this occasion, several legal instruments will be signed, which have not yet been announced.
As part of the agenda, Luís Montenegro will visit the Portuguese School of Luanda.
The prime minister will go to São Miguel Fortress, a 16th century military fortification that became a museum after Angola's Independence and, between 2009 and 2013, underwent rehabilitation works.
The first day's agenda ends with a reception for the Portuguese community, in a hotel in Luanda, with a performance by Angolan singer and composer Toty Sa'Med (TBC).
The second day will focus on the economic issues, one of the pillars of this trip, starting with visits to two companies. These are Powergol, originating in Braga (Portugal) and operating in the energy and electrical equipment sector (with a focus on training staff), and Refriango, an Angolan company leader in the production of drinks.
In the afternoon, Luís Montenegro visits, at FILDA, the Portuguese pavilion and several stands of Portuguese and Angolan companies, and closes the Angola-Portugal Business Forum, dedicated to the theme of the agri-food sector.
The Portuguese Minister of Economy, Pedro Reis, and the Angolan Minister of State for Economic Coordination, José de Lima Massano, will also speak at this forum.
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The third and final day of the visit, on Thursday, will be spent almost entirely in the province of Benguela, in the west of Angola, where the Portuguese ruler will visit one of the country's most emblematic development projects, the Lobito Corridor.
With financing from the United States and the European Union, the Lobito Corridor connects the provinces of Benguela, Huambo, Bié and Moxico and integrates, as infrastructure, the Port of Lobito, the Mining Terminal, the Catumbela airport and the Benguela railways (CFB).
This railway extends to the mining areas of the Copperbelt, in Zambia, and Katanga, in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), promoting faster and more competitive exports of cobalt, copper and other ores from these countries.
In Benguela, the Portuguese PM will begin by meeting the Governor of the Province, Luís Manuel da Fonseca Nunes, and will visit the future facilities of the Consulate-General of Portugal.
This will be followed by a trip to the largest solar photovoltaic plant in Angola, the Central Solar do Biópio, and the port of the city of Lobito, before arriving at the Benguela railways and the Lobito Atlantic Railway (LAR), the consortium formed by Trafigura, Mota-Engil and Vecturis, which has the concession for 30 years.
Luís Montenegro is scheduled to return to Luanda at the end of the afternoon, where he will have military honors at the farewell ceremony, at the Presidential Palace, with a meeting with the press and a dinner hosted by the Portuguese ambassador in Luanda, Francisco Alegre Duarte.
VIC/CF/jmc
