Angolan head of State João Lourenço arrived Tuesday afternoon in Rome, Italy, for a two-day state visit to start on Wednesday.
President Lourenço is scheduled to meet the Italian counterpart, Sergio Mattarella, at the Quirinale Palace in the morning.
According to the president’s agenda, in the early afternoon, the Angolan Head of State and his delegation are expected to attend a lunch hosted by the President of the Council of Ministers, George Meloni.
President Lourenço is expected to lay a wreath at the “Homeland Altar,” the monument of the unknown soldier, followed by a meeting with Senate leader Ignacio La Russa.
In the evening, the Angolan statesman is expected to go to the House of Representatives, where he will be received by the Parliament Speaker, Lorenzo Fontana.
On Thursday, the last day of the visit, the Angolan Head of State is scheduled to visit the Rome City Hall, where he is expected to sign the institution’s honour book.
On the same day, Lourenço is due to take part in the opening of a business forum with Angolan and Italian businesspeople.
The state visit to Italy is part of the framework of economic diplomacy with which the country has been attracting more foreign investment, with Italy as a priority.
The Angolan Head of State thus materialises the invitation made by President Sergio Mattarella, who was in Angola on an official visit in February 2019, for the strengthening of bilateral cooperation.
On that occasion, the parties signed in Luanda a memorandum of understanding between the Angolan Ministry of Finance and Cassa Depositi e Pretiti.
Angola and Italy share interests in the oil sector, with the ENI petroleum company playing a significant role in the Angolan national economy.
Development of bilateral relations
Angola is Italy’s third sub-Saharan African trading partner, after South Africa and Nigeria.
The Italian government has considered Angola a priority country for its cooperation strategy in sub-Saharan Africa since 1989.
The two countries formalised diplomatic and cooperation relations on June 4, 1976 and on August 3, 1977 signed the Technical Cooperation Agreement, as well as the Memorandum of Intent through which the Angola/Italy Joint Commission was created.
Both States signed the first legal instrument named Agreement on Air Transport on 10th April 1976.
Source: Angola Press News Agency (APNA)