TICAD9 – President Lourenço Announces Agreement on Infrastructure Sector

Yokohama: President Joo Lourenço announced on Wednesday in Yokohama the signing of new memorandums with the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and Toyota, as part of the strengthening of the diversification of the Angolan economy. Speaking at the TICAD9 Business Fair, the statesman emphasized that these agreements, to be signed during his stay in Japan, will join the existing partnerships between Angola and the Asian country, particularly in the infrastructure and industrial sectors. According to Angola Press News Agency, among the projects, President Lourenço mentioned the construction of power transmission lines and substation systems in the south of the country, as well as the Port of MoçSmedes, considered strategic for logistical and commercial development. Joo Lourenço emphasized that cooperation with Japan is essential to consolidate Angola's efforts in the process of modernization and the economy's sustainable growth. On the occasion, he also reaffirmed the importance of the Angola-Japan p artnership as an example of mutually beneficial cooperation. Bilateral cooperation between Japan and Angola began back in 1988 through an emergency aid program held by UNICEF, the United Nations Children's Agency. After the end of the war in 2002, and following the visit to Luanda by then-Japanese Foreign Minister Yoriko Kawaguchi, a study mission was sent in February 2003 to support the peace process. Since then, Japan has provided assistance to Angola in areas such as demining, social reintegration of former soldiers, and refugee reintegration.