Nigeria and Angola are set to strengthen their bilateral relations with a joint commission meeting scheduled for 2025, aimed at updating the legal frameworks guiding their political, economic and military cooperation.
This development comes as part of Angola’s efforts to enhance trade and investment ties with Nigeria, building on over 60 years of cooperation between the two nations.
The work of the 5th Meeting of the Angola-Nigeria Bilateral Joint Commission will start this Tuesday, 09/09, in Luanda to review the Cooperation Agreements and Memorandums of Understanding between the two countries, with a view to addressing the major economic challenges.
On the table will be more than 20 Agreements and Memorandums of Understanding that need to be updated, as well as the addition of new legal instruments that will henceforth guide political-diplomatic cooperation between the two countries in the areas of defence and security, cyber and digital diplomacy, economy and trade, justice, culture, air and maritime transport, telecommunications and social communication, tourism and visa exemption.
The delegations are headed by the Secretary of State for International Cooperation of MIREX, Domingos Vieira Lopes, and the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu.
The Ambassador of Angola to Nigeria, José Bamóquina Zau, described the moment as a turning point to promote more dynamic cooperation based on free trade, visa exemption, double taxation, extradition and transfer of convicted persons, and greater security in the Gulf of Guinea.
“Since 2001, the work of this commission has been interrupted, and we are very excited to relaunch this cooperation with a focus on the hydrocarbon and petrochemical industries, agribusiness, sun tourism, information technologies, innovation and the blue economy, to generate investments that create jobs for young people and boost companies in both countries,” explained José Bamóquina Zau.
On the sidelines of the 5th Meeting of the Bilateral Joint Commission, two Twinning Agreements will be formalised between the Angolan provinces of Bengo and Namibe with the Nigerian states of Nasarawa and Bayelsa, respectively, with the participation of their governors.
On the same occasion, the Angola Private Investment and Export Promotion Agency (AIPEX) and the Angola-Nigeria Business Council (ANBC) will strengthen relationship channels to guarantee solid economic partnerships with private investments from Nigeria.
Trade between Angola and Nigeria continues to be weak, insignificant and underexploited considering the potential that the two countries possess, a situation that worries the respective governments.
Outside the oil sector, from 2020 to 2022, the value of exports of goods from Angola to Nigeria was calculated at US\$5.6 million, while imports stood at US\$16.8 million, representing a negative trade balance of US\$11.2 million.
In February 2024, the Angolan Embassy organised the 2nd Business Forum in Lagos, where Nigerian gross investment intentions were estimated at US\$5 billion.
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