Luanda- Russia’s minister of Foreign Affairs Sergev Lavrov has announced a Joint Commission Meeting between his country and Angola for April to identify new areas of cooperation.
Russia’s top diplomat announced this on Tuesday in Luanda at the end of a meeting between the delegations of Russia and Angola, as part of his visit to Angola.
According to him, the States expect to focus on the fields of energy, telecommunications, information technologies, geology and mines, space and agro-industry.
Sergey Lavrov said he hoped that the Joint Commission meeting could take place at the end of April in Luanda, having praised the historical and friendly relations with Angola.
The launch of the Angolan satellite Angosat 2, last October, said the Russian minister, makes it possible to open new lines of cooperation not only in the space domain, but in other areas of technology.
As for the meeting between Angolan and Russian delegations, he noted that the parties agreed to speed up cooperation in the field of atomic energy and raise the number of scholarships from 150 to 300 students in his country.
The heads of diplomacy of Angola Teté António and Russia Sergey Lavrov corroborate the need to expand the UN Security Council, with candidates from Africa and Latin America.
The Russian diplomat said that he appreciates Angola’s efforts towards regional peace, having underlined that his country accepts, in principle, African solutions to matters on the African continent.
He noted that the Russia-Africa summit should take place in July, in Saint Petersburg. Meanwhile, the Angolan Minister of Foreign Affairs urged a negotiated solution and a ceasefire in the war against Ukraine.
Sergey Lavrov accuses West of using Ukraine for destabilising Russia and colonising the Russian peoples living in that country.
Teté António said that cooperation with Russia should meet Angola’s development needs.
He stressed that the exploration of the diamond sector requires innovative solutions given the strategic importance of this ore (diamond) for the national economy.
Angola and Russia have had privileged relations since October 8, 1976, the date on which the Treaty of Friendship and Cooperation was signed in Moscow, at the time capital of the former Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR).
On 16 November 2004, the two countries signed in Luanda an agreement for the re-launch of cooperation in the economic and technical-scientific domains and, the following day, created the intergovernmental commission for economic, technical-scientific and commercial cooperation.
Currently, cooperation is most significant in the sectors of energy, geology and mining, higher education, staff training, defence and security, telecommunications and information technologies, fisheries, transport, finance and banking.
By this time, it is estimated that at least 1,000 Russians are living in Angola, while 1,500 Angolans reside in Russia.
Source: Angola Press News Agency
