Opening remarks by President Cyril Ramaphosa on the occasion of the State Visit by H.E. Joao Lourenço, President of the Republic of Angola

Your Excellency Joao Lourenço, President of the Republic of Angola,
Honourable Ministers,
Ambassadors,
Distinguished guests,
Ladies and gentlemen,

Your Excellency, it is my pleasure to welcome you and your delegation to South Africa. 

We thank you for honouring our invitation and making your first State visit to our country.

Allow me to begin by congratulating you on your re-election following the August elections in Angola. 

It is gratifying to us all to see multiparty democracy flourishing across our continent. 

There was polling in at least 17 countries in Africa this year, including in Angola and South Africa.

We all ascribe to the vision of an Africa of good governance, human rights, sustainable development and economic integration encapsulated in the African Union’s Agenda 2063. 

This State Visit is an opportunity to give impetus to that vision by strengthening trade, investment, political and people-to-people relations between our two countries. 

South Africa and Angola share a fraternal bond that dates back to the support the MPLA gave to our liberation struggle. 

When Angola achieved independence in 1975, we were still suffering under the tyranny of apartheid rule. 

Your Excellency,

The decision to elevate our structured bilateral mechanism from a Joint Commission of Cooperation to a Bi-National Commission (BNC) reflects our common commitment to deepen our relations.

I am delighted that you will be hosting the inaugural session of the BNC in Angola next year. 

Co-chairing this first session with you will be an honour, especially given that it will be during the 50th anniversary celebrations of Angolan independence.

Increasing trade and investment between South Africa and Angola remains our foremost objective. 

South Africa must become the destination of choice for Angolan goods, products and services, and vice versa.

Approximately twenty South African companies already have a presence in Angola, and over the years have been on a concerted drive to explore investment opportunities beyond the oil sector.

South African FDI into Angola has been in a range of sectors such as financial services, IT, food and beverage, transportation, warehousing and tourism.

South Africa’s Industrial Development Corporation also has investment projects in Angola, namely in the Cabinda Oil Refinery and the Cabinda phosphate project.

We want to see more Angolan companies in South Africa. Opportunities exist in infrastructure development, agriculture, construction, mining, financial services, telecoms and manufacturing, to name but a few.

With the international community having committed to low-carbon, climate resilient development, there is also vast potential for cooperation in cleaner and renewable energy generation, green hydrogen, electric and NEV manufacturing and others.

South Africa has prioritised implementing structural economic reforms to improve the business operating environment and investment climate, and through these we hope to attract more Angolan investors.

Both Angola and South Africa have substantial mineral deposits. 

We need to cooperate on strategies and policies that ensure there is greater beneficiation of our minerals. This will become especially important as the global demand grows for the critical minerals needed in the energy transition.

In this regard, South Africa is immensely encouraged by the development of Angola’s Lobito Trans-Africa Corridor. We stand ready to work with Angola and contribute within the project possibilities that exist.

We see the African Continental Trade Agreement as a catalyst for inclusive economic growth, and we must take advantage of the system of preferential terms provided to signatories.

As both Angola and South Africa strive to accelerate the pace of industrialisation, we need to build mutually complementary capabilities in manufacturing and value-addition of products. 

The Business Forum that will take place during this State visit is an important opportunity for companies from both countries to explore synergies. 

It is our expectation that a list of bankable projects will be identified - that can be financed either though private sector capital or public-private partnerships. 

I look forward to participation in the Forum later today.

Your Excellency,

As Angola and South Africa, we have a shared commitment to advancing the ideals of Pan-Africanism and to promoting the peaceful resolution of disputes and conflicts through mediation, negotiation and dialogue. 

We wish to thank you for the efforts that Angola has lent to peace-building in the Southern African Development Community and the continent at large. 

South Africa commends Angola for the constructive role it is playing as President of the International Conference on the Great Lakes, as Facilitator of the Luanda Process, and on the Presidential Ad-Hoc Committee for the Republic of Sudan.   

We must continue to deepen our collaboration towards resolving the conflict in the Eastern DRC, the civil war in Sudan and the post-electoral crisis in Mozambique.

Silencing the Guns across Africa is a necessary precondition for stability, economic growth and development. 

As African countries, we must be at the forefront of promoting the peaceful resolution of conflict, particularly at a time when the future of multilateralism is at stake.

Israel’s war on the people of Gaza and the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine have exposed the limitations and fragilities of international institutions that remain un-representative and unreformed.

South Africa stands firm in its call for the institutions of global governance to be reformed, particularly the UN Security Council. 

The Global South must have permanent representation and a voice on the UNSC, so that it reflects global demographics and realities.

We stand firm in our call for multilateralism to remain at the center of global affairs, whether it is dealing with conflict or responding to climate change. 

We reiterate our call for the United Nations Charter to be respected and for the tenets of international law to be upheld. 

South Africa has just assumed the Presidency of the G20 and will host the first G20 Summit on African soil in 2025. 

Promoting Africa’s developmental priorities as espoused in Agenda 2063 will be one of the defining elements of our Presidency. 

Working with the African Union and fellow African countries will ensure that the issues of strategic importance to Africa and the Global South are highlighted.  

Your Excellency,

With these words I welcome you once again and look forward to our discussions. Your presence here testifies to the strong ties of solidarity and friendship between our two countries.

I thank you.