Russian President Vladimir Putin and Angolan President Joao Lourenco will hold a meeting on Thursday
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 04th April, 2019) Russian President Vladimir Putin and Angolan President Joao Lourenco will hold a meeting on Thursday.
The Soviet Union and Angola established diplomatic relations on November 11, 1975, the day of Republic's independence. During the Soviet period, the two countries maintained active political, trade, economic and military cooperation. With the collapse of the Soviet Union, economic and military ties were significantly reduced, but political engagement remained intense, including on the settlement of the armed conflict in Angola.
The official visit of then-Russian President Dmitry Medvedev to the Angolan capital of Luanda in June 2009, gave a strong stimulus to the countries for the development of relations. A joint communique was issued following the summit talks. The document identified mining industry, energy, transport, telecommunications, military-technical cooperation, education and health as priority areas for strengthening the partnership.
In October 2013, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin visited Luanda.
In November 2015, Russian Security Council Secretary Nikolai Patrushev paid a working visit to Luanda. During the visit, he met with then-Angolan President Jose Eduardo dos Santos.
In May 2017, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Yury Trutnev met with the President-elect, Joao Lourenco, the heads of a number of ministries and departments, as well as with representatives of local business structures in Angola.
In March 2018, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov came to Luanda as part of his working visit to sub-Saharan Africa. Lavrov was received by Lourenco and held consultations with his Angolan counterpart Manuel Domingos Augusto.
In June 2018, Patrushev came to Luanda on a working visit, leading a representative delegation. He met with Lourenco and held consultations with Angola's Minister of State and Head of the President's Security Office, Pedro Sebastiao, with the participation of Angolan ministers of foreign affairs, defense and internal affairs, as well as heads of special services.
On July 26, 2018, Putin held talks with Lourenco on the margins of the 10th BRICS Summit in South Africa's Johannesburg. The parties discussed relevant issues of bilateral relations.
On September 28, Lavrov and Augusto had a conversation in New York on the sidelines of the 73rd session of the United Nations General Assembly.
In February 2019, Augusto paid a working visit to Moscow.
Russia and Angola are also developing inter-parliamentary cooperation.
In January 2016, First Deputy Chairman of the Russian Federation Council Nikolai Fyodorov came to Angola for a working visit. In October 2017, the Angolan delegation took part in the work of the 137th Inter-Parliamentary Union Assembly in Russia's second largest city of St. Petersburg.
The Intergovernmental Russian-Angolan Commission on Economic, Scientific and Technological Cooperation and Trade has been operating since 2004. Its fifth regular meeting was held in Moscow in October 2018.
In 2017, according to the Russian Federal Customs Service, Russian-Angolan trade amounted to $119.7 million, showing a decrease of 78.9 percent compared to 2016. Russian exports totaled $119.6 million, while imports reached $20,300.
At the end of 2018, the volume of bilateral trade between the two countries totaled $79.5 million, including $49.5 million in Russian exports and $30 million in imports.
Russia's Primary exports to Angola are wood, pulp and paper products, food products and agricultural commodities, machinery, equipment and vehicles, chemical industry products, mineral products and others.
More than 99 percent of Russian imports are precious metals and gem stones.
One of the main areas of business relations is the mining sector, in particular, diamond mining in Angola.
Russian diamond mining company ALROSA owns 41 percent of shares in the Angolan enterprise Catoca, which produces about 7 million carats of diamonds per year, which is about 6 percent of global diamond production. ALROSA has an investment contract with Angolan state company Endiama for the creation of a joint venture for developing of the Luaxe diamond deposit in the republic.
Russian-Angolan cooperation in the diamond industry is also carried out within the framework of the joint exploration company KIMANG JV.
Oil and gas production projects are being implemented in partnership with Russia's Gazprom Neft.
The Angola's largest hydropower plant Kapanda, which provides about 65 percent of the total electricity consumed in the country, was built and is serviced with Russian participation in Angola.
The development of airport infrastructure with the participation of Russia's leading developer and supplier of air navigation equipment Azimut JSC and Russia's state arms exporter Rosoboronexport is considered to be a promising project.
In the financial and credit sector Russia's VTB Bank cooperates with National Bank of Angola through its subsidiary VTB Africa and services contracts of Russian companies with Angolan partners. VTB Group provided consulting and financing services for ALROSA as part of a deal with Catoca and in connection with the Luaxe diamond project.
Rosobronexport, Korolev Rocket and Space Corporation Energia and Roseximbank participate in the development of AngoSat satellite communications and broadcasting system of Angola. Currently, the Angosat-2 satellite is under construction.
The Russia-Angola Business Council was created in March 2019 in order to promote the dialogue between the two countries' business contacts. The council is headed by ALROSA CEO Sergey Ivanov.
Russian-Angolan cooperation in the field of education is actively developing. Currently, over 1,000 Angolans are studying in Russia.
