Angolan companies should bet on Portugal as gateway to Europe -government officials

Attracting more Angolan companies and investors to Portugal, which may be a gateway to Europe, is the common aim of the two countries, which intend to revive the creation of the Portugal-Angola Investment Observatory.

The intention was expressed by the Secretary of State for the Economy, João Neves, after a meeting with his counterpart, Ivan dos Santos, where the strengthening of cooperation between the two governments in economic matters was highlighted.

Neves noted that although the presence of Portuguese companies was already “very strong,” it should be boosted. Cooperation should also allow Angolan companies to bet on the Portuguese market as a gateway to Europe, with advantages for both countries.

The governor, who is in Angola with a delegation of Portuguese business people linked to clothing and footwear, as well as representatives of the Institute of Welding and Quality (ISQ), which will inaugurate new facilities of its associated ISQApave, said that there is the possibility of materializing investments in several areas.

“We have everything to do. We have excellent relations, but there is a lot of work that we can accomplish that will allow the relations between the two countries to be even stronger,” said João Neves.

He added that one of the areas in which he would like “to collaborate both in the clothing and footwear industry is vocational training,” noting that Portugal has experience in these two sectors.

“We are well aware of the guidelines of the Angolan government on economic diversification, but we also know the difficulties that all countries have in terms of human resources with the appropriate training for these processes,” he stressed.

On the other hand, although trade exchanges have increased by 50% in the last year, they are still below the pre-pandemic level.

“Angola is Portugal’s third trade partner outside the European Union; it is clearly a priority to strengthen the economic presence of Portuguese companies here and Angolan investments in Portugal,” he insisted.

Ivan dos Santos was also confident in increasing the number of Angolan companies and investors in Portugal and Europe.

“We will see and study the possibility with Portugal, being a member of the European Union, to guarantee that our Angolan companies and investors can feel comfortable in the European market,” he stressed.

One of the points addressed at the meeting was the creation of the Portugal-Angola Investment Observatory to evaluate the two countries’ investment flows, which resulted from an agreement signed in 2015.

“It was stopped due to agenda issues and the pandemic issue itself, but we intend that the technical teams resume work and that Angola can benefit from this relationship it has with Portugal and Europe,” said the Angolan secretary of state, admitting that later this year technical meetings will be prepared to continue the work.

Ivan dos Santos pointed out that Angola currently has a more diversified economic base, is not totally based on oil production, and is therefore in a position to take national production to the European market, with priority to agribusiness.

With information from Lusa