Luanda: President Joo Lourenço will deliver his State of the Nation address on Wednesday to open the 2025-2026 Parliamentary Year. The Head of State will assess the country's political, economic, and social situation while presenting the main prospects and challenges for the next governance cycle. According to Angola Press News Agency, Joo Lourenço is expected to address the diversification of the economy, strengthening of social policies, improving public services, and consolidating the democratic state and the rule of law. He will also highlight progress in education, health, energy, and housing, as well as actions underway to combat poverty and promote youth employment. The State of the Nation Address is one of the most important events on the national political calendar. It symbolizes coordination between the executive and legislative branches and serves as a basis for guiding the government and parliamentary agendas for the year. In 2024, Lourenço emphasized the challenges of achieving sustained growth and pledged to continue restructuring the national economy, focusing on increasing domestic production, especially of essential foodstuffs. The president stressed the need to reduce dependence on external shocks, stabilize consumer prices, and ensure collective prosperity, thereby reinforcing the executive branch's commitment to economic and social stability. Lourenço considered ensuring the soundness and sustainability of public finances essential and described them as "solid and resilient" despite the national economy's adversities. According to the president, although inflationary pressure persists, several measures have been implemented to reduce the cost of living for workers and citizens. In 2024, Joo Lourenço also addressed issues such as public debt, international reserves, the strength of state finances, investments, and challenges in the health and education sectors and policies to promote employment and self-employment. He emphasized the consolidation of the foundations for food self-sufficiency , particularly with regard to consumer products, and encouraged massive national production to meet the needs of the domestic market. In the industrial sector, Lourenço highlighted the resilience of the private sector, noting that existing industrial capacity has contributed to the gradual replacement of imports. This is particularly evident in the production of wheat flour, corn flour, cooking oil, crackers, biscuits, pasta, beer, soft drinks, table water, juices, paper napkins, detergents, steel rods, and cement. Regarding infrastructure, the president mentioned electrification projects in approximately 75 locations across various provinces, programs to improve the supply of drinking water, and the strategic role of the transportation and logistics sector, particularly the Lobito Corridor, which is considered one of the most important routes for regional economic integration. According to Article 157(2) of the Constitution of the Republic of Angola (CRA), each legislative session begins on October 15 and lasts one year. Article 118 establishes that, at the beginning of each parliamentary year, the President of the Republic shall address the country with a message on the state of the nation and the policies recommended to resolve the main challenges and promote the well-being of Angolans and the development of the country.
