Luanda: Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly expressed satisfaction with the convergence between Egypt and Angola on their positions regarding conflicts across Africa, stressing Egypt's deep concern over the continuation of such conflicts.
According to State Information Service Egypt, Madbouly underscored that the only way to resolve these conflicts is through peace and negotiations between the parties concerned, rather than resorting to war, which ultimately leads to widespread destruction and significant human and material losses. He stressed the importance of intensifying African efforts to promote dialogue, mediation, and peaceful solutions.
Madbouly made the remarks during a meeting with Angolan President Joo Manuel Louren§o in Luanda, on the sidelines of his participation, on behalf of President Abdel Fattah El Sisi, in the African Union extraordinary summit being held in the Angolan capital. The meeting addressed ways of strengthening bilateral relations and cooperation between Egypt and Angola, as well as a number of regional issues of mutual concern.
Madbouly stressed the importance of maintaining coordination and consultations between Egypt and Angola on various regional and international issues and working together to support efforts to achieve peace and stability in Africa, thereby creating a conducive environment for development and economic integration among African countries. During the meeting, Madbouly conveyed President El Sisi's greetings to President Louren§o and reaffirmed Egypt's appreciation for the strong relations between the two countries.
He also handed Louren§o an invitation from President El-Sisi to attend several events scheduled for next October in New Alamein City, expressing Egypt's hope for the Angolan President's participation. Madbouly also expressed his pleasure at meeting President Louren§o and praised Angola's remarkable progress. Noting that this was his second visit to Luanda, he added that the visit offered him a deeper appreciation of the country's development scale and ongoing modernization efforts.
He reaffirmed Egypt's keenness to further strengthen its relations with Angola and build on the outcomes of the joint committee between the two countries, which agreed to advance cooperation in several priority areas, foremost among them energy. Madbouly also commended Egyptian companies operating in Angola for their contributions to key infrastructure projects, stressing Egypt's readiness to support their ongoing participation in Angola's development plans and leverage their expertise and capabilities for major projects.
On energy cooperation, President Louren§o highlighted important steps being taken in the sector, noting that Egyptian company Elsewedy Electric had secured a contract to implement a power transmission line in eastern Angola. He said the project reflected the growing participation of Egyptian companies in Angola's energy and infrastructure projects. The meeting also addressed cooperation in the pharmaceutical and healthcare sectors. Madbouly said President Louren§o attaches great importance to the sector, expressing the Egyptian side's readiness to begin implementing a memorandum of understanding previously signed between the two countries.
The Prime Minister said the company tasked with the project was ready to immediately begin establishing Angola's first pharmaceutical manufacturing plant, describing the move as an important practical step toward strengthening bilateral cooperation in pharmaceutical manufacturing and supporting Angola's healthcare sector. For his part, President Louren§o stressed the importance of continuing healthcare cooperation and building on the memorandum of understanding and previous understandings between the two countries, including in pharmaceutical manufacturing and healthcare services more broadly.
Regarding cultural cooperation, Louren§o referred to a project to establish a major museum and expressed his country's interest in benefiting from Egyptian expertise in museum construction and museology. He noted that Angola was cooperating with Egyptian construction company Arab Contractors on the project and would draw on Egyptian expertise in the field. Louren§o also said there were broad opportunities for Egyptian investors in a number of sectors, including tourism, stressing that the Angolan government was keen to provide investors with all necessary facilities and enable them to carry out their investments.
He expressed Angola's interest in expanding cooperation with Egypt across various sectors, noting that his country plans to send a high-level delegation comprising representatives from a number of sectors to Egypt to explore opportunities for cooperation and investment and advance the economic partnership between the two countries. The two sides stressed the importance of continuing to build on the strong relations between Egypt and Angola and advancing bilateral cooperation to broader horizons in a manner that serves the common interests of the two countries and their peoples and supports efforts to promote development, stability, and peace across Africa.
President Louren§o confirmed that he would attend the events to which he was invited in New Alamein City next October. These include the African Union mid-year coordination summit on Oct. 4, the 'Alamein Africa' Business Forum on Oct. 3, and the joint chairmanship with President El Sisi of the summit of the founding states of NEPAD on Oct. 3, which coincides with the 25th anniversary of the establishment of the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD).