Brussels, 24/07/2012 (Agence Europe) - A new cooperation agreement was signed on 23 July in Brussels between the EU and Angola. The latter is a member country of the ACP States (Africa, Caribbean and Pacific), which are already linked to the EU through the Cotonou agreement, valid until 2020.
This bilateral EU/Angola agreement, which the two parties have called a “joint way forward”, aims to develop political dialogue and cooperation in a wide range of subjects (peace and security, good governance and human rights, energy, transport, environment, sciences and technology and education). It was signed by Catherine Ashton, EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs, Andris Piebalgs, European Commissioner for Development, Georges Chikoti, the Angolan foreign affairs minister, and Ana Dias Lourenco, the Angolan minister for planning, during a ceremony chaired by the president of the European Commission, José Manuel Barroso. Angola currently holds the presidency of the SADC (Southern African Development Community) and the Community of Portuguese-speaking Countries (CPLP), including the ninth summit, which was very recently concluded in Maputo on 20 July (EUROPE 10658).
As part of the 10th European Development Fund (EDF), which finances development cooperation between the EU and ACP countries over the 2008-2013 period, €250 million has been allocated to Angola for programmes and projects focusing on rural development, agriculture, food safety and de-mining operations. European Commission aid, in the form of institutional support and support for capacity enhancement, aims to help sustainable development in the country, as part of the strategy pursued by the government for fighting poverty and attaining the Millennium Development Goals (MDG). The Commission also supports projects based on regional integration, biodiversity, the private sector and non-state actors.
Angola is on the list of less developed countries and is a member of OPEC. It is also one of the biggest exporters of oil to China. It is an important economic partner of the EU and exports from this country have doubled since 2005. Angola, similarly to Botswana, Lesotho, Swaziland and Mozambique signed an interim agreement in 2009 for an Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) between the EU and the SADC. (AN/trans/fl)