Nigeria, Angola sign pact on illicit drugs control, cultural exchange

The Federal Republic of Nigeria and the Republic of Angola have signed two agreements covering cooperation on combating the illicit production, manufacture and trafficking of narcotic drugs, psychotropic substances and their precursors, as well as cultural cooperation and exchange.

The event took place at the recently held 5th Session of the Nigeria-Angola Bilateral Economic Joint Commission in Luanda, the capital of Angola, as the Joint Commission was revived after 24 years.

The Nigerian government also facilitated a landmark twinning agreement on socio-economic and cultural development between Bayelsa State and Namibe, a province of Angola.

It also brokered another economic cooperation deal between Nasarawa State and the Angolan province of Bengo.

Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu, who led the Nigerian delegation, signed on behalf of the Federal Government, while the Angolan Secretary of State for International Cooperation, Ambassador Domingos Lopes, signed for his country.

Governor Douye Diri of Bayelsa State and his Namibe Province counterpart, Dr Archer Mangueira, respectively signed their sister-cities twinning agreement.

Ambassador Odumegwu-Ojukwu and her Angolan counterpart, Ambassador Lopes, praised both countries for resuscitating the Joint Commission.

A statement by Dr Magnus Eze, Special Assistant on Communication and New Media to the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, stated that Odumegwu-Ojukwu highlighted the significance of the Joint Commission while recalling the historic bonds between Nigeria and Angola, dating back to 1975 when Angola became independent.

She said: “Our meeting in the last three days was not only to reflect on the state of our bilateral relations but also to identify new areas of cooperation in keeping with our collective desire to enhance partnership for a better future. We deserve to achieve sustainable economic growth, job creation, people-to-people contact, and poverty reduction for our people.

“The Joint Commission between our two countries thus provides a good framework to develop strategies with a view to strengthening and broadening our bilateral relations. The signing of the three agreements, including the historic twinning agreement between Bayelsa State of Nigeria and the Province of Namibe in Angola in areas of cooperation, not only signals our collective desire to promote economic, political, cultural, social, educational and scientific cooperation. It also marks a strategic partnership to boost economic growth and create employment opportunities, thus contributing to the fight against poverty and underdevelopment in our two countries.”

The Minister said the contributions of the delegates at the meeting indicated the resolve of the two countries to collaborate effectively.

“We brought to the table 28 Memoranda of Understanding, which various sub-committees carefully deliberated upon and will continue to further deliberate. The long hours spent by our officials underscore the seriousness and importance that the two delegations attached to the subjects under consideration. I thank both sides for their sacrifices in this regard.

“In negotiations, no side gets completely what it wants or desires. Therefore, what we have in the document before us is a measure of the shared responsibilities our two countries owe each other as we move our relationship to the next level.

“Let me, on behalf of the Government of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, assure the Republic of Angola that we will deploy the necessary political will in the implementation of the content of the document, as it is in line with the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. We also expect the same from the Republic of Angola to sustain the level of relationship in the interest of our two nations.”

Other Memoranda of Understanding already fine-tuned between Nigeria and Angola were slated for signing in due course.

There was also a high-level meeting of experts from both countries, which focused on various areas of cooperation.

These included visa waivers, simplified customs procedures and preferential cargo lanes; economic diversification in non-oil sectors; trade facilitation; the promotion of indigenous oil services firms in engineering, fabrication and logistics for offshore projects; and the need to pursue upstream and services partnerships between the two countries.

Other discussions included gas-to-power exploration, LNG trading and swaps, port and transport upgrades, warehousing and hinterland links.

The Nigerian Minister, who addressed a press conference after the session, explained: “We negotiated on avoidance of double taxation; agricultural pilot projects for the mechanisation of banana, cassava, rice and poultry for export; technical manpower transfer and assistance through the Nigeria Technical Aid Programme; opening channels for trade settlement by creating Naira/Kwanza corridors, whilst we commended Angola for accommodating Nigerian banks like Access Bank and UBA into its economy; discussions about a private sector initiative towards the establishment of a business council between both countries; as well as investment promotion and protection.

“We also presented and signed an agreement on the creative economy, arts and culture to promote cultural exchange programmes in film and music co-production, festivals, touring agreements, etc.

“We proposed more vibrant marine tourism, and an international boat cruise between Nigerian and Angolan coasts, especially during Detty December.”

She described the Joint Commission as fruitful, stating that both countries would work on actualising these strategic outcomes.

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