The meeting, which took place on 16 May, followed visits by the ministerial delegation to the Czech Republic and Germany where the Minister sought to present investment opportunities to Europe in an attempt to strengthen Angola’s non-oil sectors and promote economic diversification.
“France could not be out of this tour because of the excellent diplomatic relations, and, from the economic point of view we are going after, trying to diversify this economic relationship that has a very strong slant on the oil sector,” H.E. Minister João stated, adding, “We have a very important import of agri-food products coming from France, but France is increasingly believing in our market and is convinced that the next frontier is agribusiness.”
During the meeting, French and Angolan authorities discussed the establishment of a partnership between the Development Bank of Angola and the AFD. The focus of this partnership will be to finance agribusiness projects while promoting diversification of the Angolan economy.
Part of the partnership will involve the approved, $500 million per year National Promotion Plan for Grain Production and $300 million per year National Plan for the Promotion of Fisheries. Furthermore, Angola’s Government is also working on a plan for livestock that will mobilize $300 million over the next three years to support animal production and derivatives.
According to H.E. Minister João, the Government of Angola anticipates an economic growth of 3.5% between 2023 and 2027. This growth is poised to be driven by economic diversification and agribusiness, a sector set to receive $3 billion in funding, which will be allocated towards public infrastructure and the private sector.
“We are forecasting growth of at least 4.6% in the non-oil sector and between 0.5% and 1% in the oil sector,” the Minister stated, adding, “We have never had a massive investment like this in agribusiness. We believe that in five years we can be among the main producers of grain (corn, soy, wheat and rice), with corn and soy making up 95% of the ingredients for animal feed.”
Uniting French and Angolan businesspeople, the meeting follows a visit by France’s President, Emmanuel Macron, to Angola’s capital city of Luanda at the beginning of March. During his visit, France’s President expressed interest in promoting a closer relationship with the Angolan diaspora.
In 2022, the value of Angolan and French trade reached $4 billion, of which $2.9 billion were exports from Angola to France while approximately $1.1 billion involved exports from France to Angola.