Mohammed underscores strong ties with Angola

Staff Reporter, Gulf Today

His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, on Wednesday met with President of Angola João Manuel Gonçalves Lourenço at Expo 2020 Dubai.

Welcoming the President and his accompanying delegation, Sheikh Mohammed underscored the UAE’s strong ties and partnership with Angola in various fields.

Sheikh Mohammed also expressed the UAE’s keenness to identify opportunities to reinforce cooperation in areas of mutual interest that can contribute to the development of both countries.

Key focuses of the meeting included the opportunities offered by Angola, which the UAE sees as an important investment destination, and greater collaboration between the two countries in the metals sector and the development of infrastructure and the digital economy. The meeting also highlighted the exceptional growth of trade between the two countries in recent years.

Both sides stressed the importance of developing further mechanisms to increase bilateral trade and investment including information exchange on trade opportunities and investment prospects, services provided to the private sectors of both countries to promote economic cooperation, and technical collaboration in digital transformation. The discussion also touched on regional and global developments, international cooperation for advancing sustainable development, and opportunities emerging from Expo 2020 Dubai. A number of ministers from both countries also attended the meeting.

Sheikh Mohammed and the Angolan President witnessed the exchange of a number of Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) aimed at strengthening bilateral cooperation in various vital fields, including energy, transportation and digital transformation.

The MoUs were exchanged by  Sheikh Shakhbut Bin Nahyan Bin Mubarak Al Nahyan, Minister of State and  Téte António, Foreign Minister of Angola. The agreements included an MoU on cooperation between Masdar, Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company and Angola’s Ministry of Energy and Water to study the implementation of a solar energy and energy storage programme; a Memorandum of Intent between Abu Dhabi Ports and Angola’s Ministry of Transport on cooperation in transport and related sectors; an MoU between EDGE Group and the Government of Angola on future cooperation, and another MoU between PRESIGHT company and the Government of Angola on cooperation in digital transformation.

The meeting was held in the presence of Sheikh Mansour Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Presidential Affairs;  Sheikh Ahmed Bin Saeed Al Maktoum, Chairman of Dubai Civil Aviation Authority, Chairman of Dubai Airports and Chairman and Chief Executive of Emirates Airline and Group;  Sheikh Ahmed bin Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Chairman of the Dubai Media Council; and  Sheikh Mansoor bin Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Chairman of the Dubai Council for Border Crossing Points Security.

National Day: Angola will celebrate National Day at its pavilion at the Mobility district of Expo 2020 Dubai in the presence of the Republic’s visiting President, João Lourenço, and various other dignitaries.

Angola has also lined up an array of traditional and contemporary cultural festivities to visitors of the Expo showcasing a slice of the Southern African country’s cultural and artistic experience to the multi-cultural and multi-ethnic global audience at the Expo.

“The robust bilateral relationship with the UAE and Angola will get a further boost with the visit of the President who is expected to sign a host of MoUs in the economic sectors of transport and energy, among others. On top of this, the National Day celebrations present an opportunity to present Angolan culture and art to a global audience at the Expo,” said Albina Assis Africano, Commissioner-General for Angola at Expo 2020 Dubai.

 “Our participation at the Expo 2020 as a young country will help us project the opportunities the country offers to global investors, while also providing us an opportunity to present how we uniquely blend tradition with modernity in our developmental agenda. In fact, the theme of our pavilion reflects this,” said Mrs Africano.

The theme of Angolan pavilion – `Connecting with Tradition to Innovate’ - and the country’s slogan – `From Tradition to Innovation,’- also connects with the theme of the Expo – `Connecting Minds, Creating the Future.’

As part of the National Day celebrations, the Angolan pavilion is hosting an exhibition by Angolan plastic artists, who will showcase their creations between December 22 and January 3, 2022. A National Day parade will also be held at the Expo premises from DEC to Al Wasl Plaza. A cultural folklore performance and a music show will also be part of the festivities.

At the Angola Pavilion, visitors are shown how Angola’s history and their technological innovations are intimately linked. The Pavilion focuses on the Angolan Chowke people and their relationship with the people of Angola today by using symbols like a large parrot called Toje, that symbolises freedom of thought. That is one of the symbols that the Pavilion is using to reintroduce the dying art of storytelling.

The education cluster at the Angola Pavilion is presenting modern opportunities for people of Angola. They are displaying Angola’s program to educate students who are interested in the aerospace industry as a part of their program  to promote space research. It includes the opportunity to attend a technology space institute for free.

Culture is a key part of the Angola Pavilion at this edition of the Expo. They are having nightly performances throughout the duration of the Expo where musicians from all over Angola will play modern and ancient music. They are also hosting regular performances on traditional and contemporary dance forms and visitors can attend workshops to learn about ancient instruments and how they were handmade.

Mauritania: Mokhtar Ould Dahi, Minister of Culture, Youth, Sports and Relations with the Parliament of Mauritania, and Government Spokesperson, said that the relations between the UAE and Mauritania are historical and deep-rooted, noting that the successful organisation of Expo 2020 Dubai is a source of pride for all Arabs.

In an interview with the Emirates News Agency (WAM) at Expo 2020 Dubai, Dahi lauded the UAE’s support for Mauritania’s application to inscribe “Mahadher” on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO).

Mahadher is a simplified educational system in Mauritania, dating back around ten centuries, which does not require facilities or any tangible infrastructure, and accepts students of any age who are willing to join.

Dahi also praised Emirati-Mauritanian relations, which were established by the late Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan and the late Mauritanian President, Moktar Ould Daddah, and were further developed under the current leaderships.

He commended the overall developing bilateral ties between the two friendly countries and the significant development and prosperity achieved by the UAE, which serves as a source of pride for all Arabs. The cooperation between the two countries covers many areas, including culture, he noted.

Dahi added that he discussed, with Noura bint Mohammed Al Kaabi, Minister of Culture and Youth, ways of strengthening their cooperation in the cultural sector, including the exchange of expertise.

The UAE is a leader in creative and cultural industries, he stressed.

The successful organisation of Expo 2020 Dubai is a significant achievement for Arab countries, Dahi affirmed, thanking the UAE for their remarkable efforts.

He also stated that the UAE’s efforts in promoting cultural are outstanding, and it is always keen to support the efforts of other Arab countries in promoting culture globally, including their applications to UNESCO.

Dahi expressed his happiness at participating in the Conference of Arab Culture Ministers, which was held last week and discussed many important issues, such as the Arab cultural action strategy.