Nigeria, Angola Strengthen Ties With New Bilateral Agreements

Nigeria and Angola person revived their long-dormant Bilateral Joint Economic Commission aft 24 years, sealing caller agreements aimed astatine strengthening socio-economic, cultural, and governmental cooperation.

The agreements were signed during the 5th league of the associated commission, a three-day gathering successful Luanda, led by Nigeria’s Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu, and Angola’s Secretary of State for International Cooperation, Ambassador Domingos Custodio Vieira Lopes.

One of the highlights was a landmark twinning statement betwixt Bayelsa State and Angola’s Namibe Province, focusing connected economical and biology development, cultivation manpower training, energy, education, culture, tourism, and sports. Another statement was struck betwixt Nasarawa State and Bengo Province of Angola.

Bayelsa State governor, Senator Douye Diri, described the pact arsenic “historic,” noting that it would unlock caller opportunities for development.

“Signing this important statement betwixt our 2 countries and 2 states is precise historical for america from Bayelsa State, coming astatine a clip our host, Angola, was marking its 50th independency anniversary,” Diri said.

“I callback that aboriginal this year, I was successful Namibe and I saw the level of earthy endowments successful that province. That besides goes for Bayelsa. Both states are people endowed, and determination is truthful overmuch we tin bash that would beryllium mutually beneficial to america arsenic states and our countries.”

He commended the Federal Government for including Bayelsa successful the practice statement and thanked the Angolan authorities for its hospitality.

Namibe’s governor, Dr. Archer Mangueira, echoed Diri’s sentiments, calling the statement the opening of “milestone cooperation.”

“This statement provides an accidental to found areas of comparative advantage. We person communal geographical features with Bayelsa. On behalf of the authorities and radical of Namibe, I invited this statement and my member from Bayelsa,” Mangueira said.

Speaking earlier, Amb. Odumegwu-Ojukwu underscored the value of reviving the associated commission, recalling that Nigeria and Angola’s ties day backmost to Angola’s independency successful 1975.

“This associated committee reaffirms the affable and cooperative ties betwixt Nigeria and Angola arsenic important partners. As such, determination is simply a request to continuously enactment unneurotic to realise the fullest imaginable of our bilateral cooperation,” she said.

“Our gathering successful the past 3 days was not lone to bespeak connected the authorities of our bilateral relations but besides to place caller areas of practice successful keeping with our corporate tendency to heighten concern for a amended future. We merit to execute sustainable economical growth, occupation creation, people-to-people contact, and poorness simplification for our people.”

The curate revealed that some delegations tabled 28 memoranda of knowing for consideration, noting that the result was a merchandise of “shared responsibilities.”

“In negotiations, nary broadside gets wholly what it wants oregon desires. Therefore, what we person successful the papers earlier america is simply a measurement of the shared responsibilities our 2 countries beryllium each different arsenic we determination our narration to the adjacent level,” she added.

“Let me, connected behalf of the authorities of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, guarantee the Republic of Angola that we volition deploy the indispensable governmental volition successful the implementation of the contented of the document, arsenic it is successful enactment with the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Tinubu. We besides expect the aforesaid from the Republic of Angola to prolong the level of narration successful the involvement of our two nations.”