The Council of the EU gave the green light on Thursday 27 May to the opening of negotiations for an EU-Angola agreement on investment facilitation. The decision to do so was adopted without debate, on the basis of a recommendation made by the European Commission last March.
This will be the first such agreement negotiated by the EU, stemming from the ongoing WTO negotiations on the Joint Initiative on Facilitation of Investment for Development.
“The goal of this agreement is to improve the investment climate and to facilitate the mobilisation and retention of investment through modern and simplified rules, measures and procedures relating to foreign direct investment that promote sustainable development, economic growth and job creation, while strengthening the bilateral investment relationship between the EU and Angola”, the Portuguese Presidency of the Council said in a statement.
Adding that “the agreement will therefore help to stimulate mutually beneficial sustainable investment and diversify the Angolan economy”.
The Portuguese Presidency of the Council and the EIB recently organised an EU/Africa High Level Forum on Green Investment in Africa (see EUROPE 12705/20).
At the 5th EU-Angola ministerial meeting in September 2020, both sides confirmed their intention to explore the possibility of an EU-Angola investment agreement focusing on investment facilitation (see EUROPE 12556/3). (Original version in French by Aminata Niang)