Angola and France to Sign €430m in Contracts During Lourenço State Visit

French President Emmanuel Macron is hosting Angolan President Joao Lourenço for a two-day state visit starting Thursday to strengthen political, cultural, and economic ties.

The French presidency said the visit aims to boost cooperation between the two countries while addressing major regional and international issues. President Lourenço is preparing to take over the presidency of the African Union in February, a key topic for discussions.

One of the key issues on the agenda is the conflict between Rwanda and Democratic Republic of Congo.

Macron, who visited Angola in March 2023, has reiterated his support for Lourenço’s efforts as key mediator.

Since November 2021, the armed M23 movement, has seized large swathes of territory in the east of the DRC, rich in natural resources and torn apart by conflicts for 30 years.

Rwanda denies supporting the M23 and says its aim is to tackle the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR), an armed group primarily composed of Hutu militants formed in the wake of the 1994 Rwandan genocide.

In December, Congolese Presidents Félix Tshisekedi and Rwandan President Paul Kagame were to meet in Luanda for peace talks but the two parties failed to agree on the terms, leading to a last-minute cancellation.

DR Congo, Rwanda peace talks in Angola cancelled after hitting ‘deadlock’

Diversify the economy

On the economic front, more than 430 million euros worth of contracts are due to be signed during Lourenço’s visit to Paris.

While trade between France and Angola has been dominated by the hydrocarbon sector, Angola is now turning to France to help it diversify its economy.

Lourenço will attend the Angola-France Business Forum which will bring together companies from both countries at the headquarters of Medef, the French employers’ organisation, on Friday.

The French company Suez is expected to formalise the signing of a major contract in the treatment of wastewater in Angola.

Financing is also expected to be concluded between French bank Société Générale and Angolan authorities for the purchase of an Earth observation satellite to be manufactured by Airbus in Toulouse, southwest France.

For Angola, the objective is to map its oil and mineral resources but also water for agriculture.

A preliminary agreement is due to be signed with the French Development Agency concerning a huge irrigation project while cooperation continues to rebuild the coffee sector.

Discussions will also focus on the Lobito corridor rail line project, intended to transport minerals extracted in the DRC and Zambia to the Atlantic Ocean.

France’s Macron hails renewed economic ties with Angola

Potential and risks

For Sergio Calundungo, the coordinator of the Political and Social Observatory of Angola, the Lobito Corridor has great potential and represents an economic advantage not only for Angola, but for countries in the region, especially for the DRC and Zambia.

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He however warns that there are potential risks associated with this type of development, that has attracted the interest of both American and European investors.

“We are talking about risks of an environmental nature, because it will have a lot of infrastructure, a lot of equipment, in an area that was left to its own devices and for such a long time and didn’t have much human intervention,” he told RFI’s Portugese service.

There is also a risk of social unrest he explains. “I believe that we must ensure that all these investments do not translate into land invasion, conflicts, disputes over access to land, access to water, access to other resources with local communities,” he says.

In a separate development, Angola is considering asking the French Hospital Equipment Company to open an ophthalmological hospital in the capital.

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