Benguela — Angola's ambassador to the United States, Agostinho Van-Dúnem, highlighted the promotion of US investment in the Lobito Corridor, with repercussions in key sectors such as gains from the strategic partnership between the two countries.
US President Joe Biden ended his three-day state visit to Angola on Wednesday, 4, in Benguela province, with participation in the Multilateral Summit on the Lobito Corridor, which was also attended by the heads of state of Angola, DRC, Zambia and Tanzania.
On the occasion, Joe Biden announced an increase in US investment for the Lobito Corridor, of 600 million dollars.
It is in this context that Ambassador Agostinho Van-Dúnem underlined that, in addition to the railway corridor line (1,344 km), this investment also aims to boost agriculture and agribusiness.
With funding secured to increase agricultural production capacity along the Lobito Corridor, which comprises the provinces of Benguela, Huambo, Bié and Moxico, the diplomat foresees the creation of more jobs and greater food security for the population.
For the diplomat, Angola is able to contribute to the food security of the region, but prioritizing first the satisfaction of internal needs, by increasing production to fight hunger.
Describing the visit of the US President to Angola as historic, Agostinho Van-Dúnem also said that relations between the two countries have been 'improving a lot'.
For this reason, he said that Angola today is a country with a strategic partnership with the United States in different fields, especially in infrastructure, defense and security, renewable energy, including education.
'Angola is today a country on which the US counts for partnerships in these areas (...). And we have had a relevant interaction with the American authorities,' said the ambassador, for whom Joe Biden's recently ended visit is also the result of US investment in these areas of cooperation.
Eyes on the future
Focusing on the future, the ambassador says that Angola will seek, in the coming years, to consolidate this cooperation in other areas, such as education, health, technical assistance for the fight against corruption and the improvement of the business environment in the country.
Agostinho Van-Dúnem puts 'emphasis on' the need to improve the business environment in the country, so that it can mobilize more investments that are reflected in economic diversification.
Although attention is focused on the Lobito Corridor, one of the major projects underway, Agostinho Van-Dúnem also evokes that there is American funding in agriculture and renewable energies.
The challenge now is, according to the ambassador, to strengthen investments, for example, in the area of water collection and distribution, and in road infrastructures, to facilitate the mobility of people, goods and services, aiming to promote national development.
New Administration
Asked about the change in the US presidency, as a result of the last elections won by Donald Trump, the ambassador said that the expectation of the Angolan authorities is to continue working with the new US Administration.
'Because we have state relations and the issues, we are working on are of mutual interest, especially in the field of food security,' he explained, noting that many of the issues that have dominated bilateral cooperation actually began in the Trump administration.
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Angola's expectation is to continue working at the highest level, in order to increasingly strengthen relations between the two countries and peoples, he said.
Regarding the return of dollars to the country, he referred to negotiations with the US Treasury Department, so that this matter can be resolved 'as soon as possible'.
However, he notes that the country must comply with the legislation already approved for this purpose, in order to make the financial system safer and more robust.
'But it is good to say that the issue of dollars also has to do with national production,' he noted.
And he adds: 'The more we produce, the more we will be able to export to be able to acquire foreign currency.' CRB/DOJ
