Transcript of Special briefing by MEA on President's State visit to Angola (November 10, 2025)
India - Ministry of External Affairs
November 10, 2025
Shri Rajesh Parihar, Director (XPD): Good afternoon, everyone. I welcome you to this special media briefing on the ongoing visit of Hon'ble Rashtrapati ji to Angola.
And for that, I have on dais with me Shri Sudhakar Dalela, Secretary (Economic Relations), Ministry of External Affairs; Shri Sevala Naik Mude, Additional Secretary for Central and Western Africa, Ministry of External Affairs; Ms. Manisha Varma, Press Secretary to the Hon'ble Rashtrapati ji; and Vidhu Nair, Ambassador of India to Angola.
I would now request the Secretary (ER) to brief the media on the Hon'ble Rashtrapati ji's visit to Angola.
Shri Sudhakar Dalela, Secretary (ER): Good afternoon, friends. Thank you very much, Rajesh, for organizing this media briefing.
I think, as most of you are aware, the Hon'ble President arrived in Luanda in the evening of 8th November on a State Visit to the Republic of Angola. This is the first ever State Visit by any Head of State from India to Angola.
On arrival, on the evening of 8th, at the International Airport of Angola, Hon'ble Rashtrapati ji was received very warmly by the Hon'ble Minister of External Relations of Angola, His Excellency, Mr. Téte António.
Yesterday, Hon'ble President was received at the Presidential Palace by Hon'ble President of Angola João Manuel Gonçalves Lourenço where she also inspected the guard of honor. Following the ceremonial welcome, Hon'ble President had a tête-à-tête with President Lourenço, which was followed by a delegation-level talks between the two sides. From the Angolan side, there were several cabinet ministers and senior officials present at the talk. From the Indian side, Minister of State for Railways and Jal Shakti Shri Somanna and two Members of Parliament and senior officials participated at the talks. During the discussion, both leaders expressed satisfaction at the growing political exchanges and expansion of bilateral ties between our two countries.
The State Visit of Hon'ble President is taking place within six months of the State Visit of the President of Angola to Delhi, India, earlier this year in May. And this also reflects the strong and positive momentum in our bilateral ties.
Both the leaders reviewed the existing bilateral cooperation in various sectors, including trade and investment, agriculture, health, infrastructure development, capacity building, defense, and also development partnership. They discussed ways to further strengthen and expand our cooperation in these sectors with a shared commitment to sustainable growth and mutual prosperity. Both sides also reiterated their commitment to encourage private sector to play a big role, an important role in advancing India - Angola ties of friendship and cooperation.
The discussions were followed by signing and exchange of agreements between the two sides. We have signed two MoUs during this visit. One relates to cooperation in fisheries and aquaculture and marine resources. The other relates to consular matters. Both sides have also concluded the discussion and finalized the text of Air Service Agreement between India and Angola.
In addition, in terms of specific outcomes, Angola has agreed to join the International Big Cat Alliance and Global Biofuels Alliance, two initiatives spearheaded by Government of India. As some of you would know, IBCA focuses on conserving seven big cat species and their habitats. It also promotes sharing of best practices, funding, research and expertise to support conservation. The Global Biofuels Alliance aims to accelerate the development and adoption of sustainable biofuels as part of the Clean Energy Foundation, and we are very happy Angola has joined these two initiatives during this visit.
Today, Hon'ble President addressed the National Assembly of Angola in a special session for the Members of Parliament of Angola. She was received at the Parliament building by the Hon'ble Speaker of the National Assembly of Angola. Earlier today, Hon'ble President also visited the Memorial of Antonio Agostinho Neto, the first President of Angola, and paid her respects there. She also visited Fortress of St. Michael, the National Museum, earlier today.
In the evening today, Hon'ble President will be interacting with the Indian community at a special event organized by the Indian Embassy, celebrating the contribution of vibrant Indian Diaspora to Angola's development and to also India-Angola friendship.
Tomorrow, Hon'ble President will be participating as a honored guest in the celebrations marking the 50th Anniversary of the Independence of the Republic of Angola. As you may recall, when Hon'ble President of Angola visited India in May this year, he had extended a cordial invitation to Hon'ble Rashtrapati ji to participate as a special guest in the celebration. So, Hon'ble President will be joining the Hon'ble President of Angola in the celebration tomorrow morning.
As all of you know, this year is a very special year for India and Angola. We are celebrating 40th anniversary or 40 years of establishment of diplomatic relations between our two countries. This is also, as I mentioned, the first ever State Visit of President of India to Angola. Angola is celebrating 50th anniversary of its independence this year. And President Lourenço also is Chairperson of the African Union this year.
So, for all these purposes, this visit assumed very, very important significance. Overall, the visit of Rashtrapati ji has been a very significant milestone in furthering India-Angola friendship and partnership.
With these opening remarks, I will be very happy to respond to any question that you may have. Thank you.
Dibyendu, Doordarshan: Hi, sir. This is Dibyendu from Doordarshan. Sir, my question is, we did speak about a lot of cooperation between the two countries. Yesterday, we did hear during the press statement as well from the Angolan side that they required cooperation in the health sector as well. What are the other areas or avenues of cooperation between the two countries, if you could elaborate?
Shri Sudhakar Dalela, Secretary (ER): Thank you very much for this question. I think, as I mentioned, it has been a remarkable year for India-Angola ties. Well, we have enjoyed close and long-standing partnership with Angola for several years.
But, as I said, this year is very special. And during these discussions at the leaders' level, both in Delhi and in Luanda, yesterday and today, what I would say in terms of concrete areas of cooperation would be eight or nine, perhaps ten.
The first and foremost, of course, is in the area of trade and economic cooperation, which also includes a range of, I would say, sectors in this broad rubric.
The second area, I would say, is our partnership in energy cooperation. As you know, Angola is a very important partner of India for energy security. We do have substantial imports of energy supplies from Angola, both crude oil and gas.
The third area I would say is, as you mentioned, health. President Lourenço did express an interest in collaborating more with India, knowing the expertise of India in the sector of health.
The fourth, I would say, is the area of agriculture. And there also we hope to work together with Angola in the coming months and years to strengthen our partnership, sharing our expertise in the area of agriculture, agriculture technology, agriculture research with our Angolan friends.
In addition, the leaders have agreed to also strengthen cooperation in the area of defense. As you would remember, during the visit of Angolan President to India, we had announced a line of credit of US$200 million, and we are trying to work together with our Angolan friends to finalize the agreement for this LOC, so that our cooperation in this area can move forward.
Another area which is also very important for Angola, and where we have had collaboration with Angola in the past is the area of infrastructure development. President Lourenço spoke about their desire to expand the railway network in Angola, and our rail companies have worked in the past with Angolan entities, and they would be very happy to share their expertise and technology with Angola in the sector of rail development.
Finally, I would say the whole area of connectivity and people-to-people connection. As you know, we have already initialed the text of the Air Services Agreement yesterday. So, connectivity is another important theme that we are focusing on.
And lastly, which is very important also, is the area of technology. Hon'ble President of Angola spoke about space cooperation, seeking partnership in the whole domain of digital public infrastructure and we are working in that area also with Angola.
So, I think these are, eight or nine sectors, which are very specific sectors of cooperation, which our leaders have identified. And as we go back to India, we would be working internally with all our ministries, stakeholders, industry and private sector to make sure that we maintain this momentum, and we encourage them to engage with the Angolan side to take this conversation forward. Thank you.
Neelabh Srivastava, PTI: Sir, I am Neelabh. I work with the Press Trust of India. My question is with regard to the diamond sector. The President did mention that India is a leader in cutting and polishing of diamonds, whereas Angola obviously is a major producer of diamonds. So, what is the potential here?
And my second question is about the energy sector. So has Angola, because of the global dynamics that we see ... Russian oil in the context of India. So, has Angola committed to increasing some supplies to India or enlarging the basket for us? Thank you.
Shri Sudhakar Dalela, Secretary (ER): Thank you very much for your question. Two parts of the question. One is on diamond partnership in the sector of diamond, and the other is energy.
So, in the area of diamond, as all of you know, Angola is a leading producer of diamond. And they have prospects for increasing their production in the coming years in diamond. And some of the Indian companies have been working with Angolan partners for the last few years. And the area of cooperation includes cutting and polishing of diamonds and procuring raw diamonds from Angola.
And in our discussion with the leadership of Angola in the last two days, what I gathered from them is that their experience of Indian companies working in this sector is very positive. They felt that this model is based on partnership, that Indian companies are not only cutting and polishing in India, but they are trying to also enhance skill in Angola in the area of cutting and polishing.
So, the leadership was very happy, and they would like to cooperate with us in this framework of collaboration and partnership. Where, both India and Indian expertise can be harnessed. Also, Angolan capacity can be increased in terms of cutting and polishing. So, I do see a very productive and positive, framework for collaboration in the area of diamonds in the coming years.
As regard to energy, as I mentioned to you, we have a very robust and vibrant energy partnership with Angola. Angola is our second largest energy supplier from African region, both in the area of crude oil and gas. And our companies are already working very closely with Angolan counterparts.
As Angola invests more in this sector, I feel that we can expand our collaboration in the energy sector, both in terms of joint investments and also putting our energy partnership on a more firm footing through long-term arrangements for export and import of energy supplies from Angola.
So, all in all, I would say that there is a considerable sort of interest in Angola to expand this partnership. And we would be responding very positively as we move forward to strengthen our partnership in the energy sector. The scope is very positive, I would say, and we would like to build upon this partnership in the coming years. Thank you.
Nishant Ketu, ANI: Hi, sir. I am Nishant Ketu from ANI. Sir, my question is how will this visit reinforce India's Africa policy and then guiding principle outlined by Prime Minister Modi?
Shri Sudhakar Dalela, Secretary (ER): Well, thank you very much. I am glad you asked this question about our larger engagement with Africa and our partnership with the Global South.
I would like to say that this visit of Hon'ble President to Angola, and Botswana later on, is also a reflection of India's very firm commitment to strengthen partnership with the African continent as a whole.
I am sure all of you are aware that Hon'ble Prime Minister of India in the Parliament of Uganda had outlined 10 foundational principles of strengthening our partnership with Africa. And Hon'ble President, in her discussion with the Angolan leadership did reiterate India's commitment to expand this partnership with Africa as a whole.
As you know, President of Angola is the current Chairperson of the African Union. And Hon'ble President did mention to her Angolan counterpart that we would like to also host the next edition of India-Africa Forum Summit. And Hon'ble President of Angola was very forthcoming in his support to make sure that India's partnership with Africa continues to move forward on the basis of solidarity, mutual respect, and shared development priorities.
So, I would say that this visit is extremely important for us from larger context of India-Africa engagement also. Thank you.
Manish, Akashvani News: Greetings, sir. I am Manish from Akashvani News. My question is to the MoUs which were exchanged yesterday on fisheries, aquaculture and marine resources and consular matters. I would request if you could elaborate a bit on the specific relevance of these sectors vis-a-vis India-Angola relations.
Shri Sudhakar Dalela, Secretary (ER): Well, as I mentioned, the MoU on fisheries will focus also on aquaculture and marine resources. The MoU aims to enhance institutional collaboration for sustainable fisheries management and sustainable aquaculture practices. It will also allow us to share our best practices in fisheries and marine resources. So, I think this is very important for both India and Angola.
I did mention to you about conclusion of discussion on the Air Services Agreement. This will provide us an enabling framework for looking at the possibility in the future of starting flights from Luanda to places in India. And President Lourenço did express an interest in the direct air connectivity between India and Angola to boost business as well as people-to-people connection between our two countries.
We have also signed an agreement on authorizing the dependence of members of Diplomatic Relations and Consular Corps to engage in gainful employment.
So, these are the three MoUs we initialled here yesterday. But more equally importantly, as I mentioned to you earlier, Angola has also joined the International Big Cat Alliance as well as Global Biofuels Alliance. The Global Biofuels Alliance was established or started during G20 Presidency of India in 2023, and several members have already joined this Global Biofuels Alliance, and we are very happy that Angola, during the visit of Hon'ble President, has agreed and announced its intent to join us as full member of this alliance.
I must also mention that during the visit of President of Angola to India earlier this year, they had agreed to join the International Solar Alliance as well. So, Angola has come forward to partner with India and other members in these very critical areas of cooperation in renewable energy, in Conservation and Wildlife Management, and, of course, the Biofuels Alliance.
So, all these, to my mind, are very significant outcomes of this visit. And we would like to build upon these agreements and MoUs. And I think you must have heard yesterday the Hon'ble President of Angola mentioned that we should now focus on implementation. So, the task for all of us, both on the Angolan side, on the Indian side, is to make sure that we continue to engage at different levels, as also to encourage the private sector in both countries to engage more and really see how we can collaborate more across sectors.
Thank you.
Shri Rajesh Parihar, Director (XPD): Sir, as I see, there is no more request for questions. So, sir, with your permission, now I would like to conclude this special media briefing. Thank you, sir. Thank you, everyone. The briefing is over.
Shri Sudhakar Dalela, Secretary (ER): Thank you very much.
Luanda
November 10, 2025
|
NEWSLETTER
|
| Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list |
|
|
|
