As part of the state visit by Angolan President Joao Lourenco, 13 agreements will be signed on Saturday by Angola and Kenya in various aspects to promote bilateral cooperation. The verbal process for signing these instruments was signed on Thursday in Nairobi, during the 1st meeting of the Bilateral Joint Commission, by Angola’s Foreign Minister, Tete Antonio, and Kenya’s Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Diaspora Affairs, Musalia Mudavadi.
The agreements cover a variety of topics, including trade, industry, youth, mineral resources, oil and gas, tourism, telecommunications, information and communication technologies, health, agriculture, and the environment. The Vencio de Moura Diplomatic Academy of the Angolan Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Kenyan Ministry of Foreign Affairs will also sign a Memorandum of Understanding.
The Memorandum of Understanding between the National School of Administration and Public Policy (ENAPP) and the Kenyan Government School in the field of Capacity Building in the Public Service will also serve as a foundation for cooperation between the two nations.
During the First Meeting of the Angola/Kenya Joint Commission, Angola’s Foreign Minister, Tete Antonio said at the end that the inaugural session marks a new stage in the strengthening of bilateral relations between the two countries. In this area, Mr. Antonio considered it to be a historic moment that would allow the parties to intensify cooperation, based on the General Agreement for Cooperation in the Economic, Scientific, Technical, and Cultural Domains, signed in Luanda on 15 January 2014, which will allow other sectoral legal instruments to be signed.
Teté António reaffirmed Angola’s desire to increase collaboration with Kenya by making use of the many opportunities that exist and offer mutual benefits, particularly in the fields of political diplomacy, capacity building for the civil service, health, agriculture, and forestry.
The minister urged the associated sectors to work closely together in order to achieve this aim within the mutually agreed-upon timelines, noting that the technical teams had also identified other areas of collaboration that should be finalized as soon as feasible. Accordingly, he suggested that the technical teams be given the task of creating a workable and adaptable framework to oversee and monitor the pledges made in this Bilateral Joint Commission.
The minister commended Angola’s political stability and consolidation of its macroeconomic indicators that have paid particular attention to the country’s socioeconomic growth and development. He went on to tell the Kenyan counterpart that the Angolan Executive has been promoting a series of internal reforms, with a view to establishing a more favorable business environment for boosting economic and commercial cooperation with other countries in the world in general, and in particular with African countries.
“Angola and Kenya are two countries with economic realities and potential, whose complementarity and comparative advantages will serve to leverage productive capacity and wealth creation, with benefits for both states and peoples,” he said.
Téte António saw Kenya’s potential in the agriculture and tourism industries as well as the country’s flag carrier, Kenyan Airways, which has long been regarded as one of the best in Africa. According to the minister, Angola seeks to take lessons from Kenya’s experience in this regard and, more specifically, to entice private investment from that nation in these and other areas.
The signing of the accords, according to Kenya’s Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign and Diaspora Affairs, Musalia Mudavadi, would be a clear and responsible indication of how eager the parties are to enhance their bilateral connections. Therefore, he stated that it was crucial to work towards their realization in order for Angola and Kenya to overcome development obstacles for the good of their populations.