US diplomat hails relations with Angola
The United States of America ambassador to Angola, Tulinabo Salama Mushingi, on Tuesday highlighted his country’s strong ties with Angola, 30 years after the diplomatic relations officially kicked off.
Speaking at the 247th anniversary of the US independence marked on July 4, the diplomat said the partnership between the United States and Angola has “grown a lot,” as a result of the commitment of the leaders of the two countries.
Mushingi underlined that today, while seeking to create a shared prosperous future, US efforts are focused on three main pillars, namely prosperity, good governance and security
As an example, Tulinabo Mushingi cited the inauguration of the Lobito Corridor management concession, which the US will finance with 250 million dollars, underscoring that this is one of Angola’s most important strategic project infrastructure.
“This will be the biggest and first investment made by the International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) in Angola and the first investment in a rail project in Africa”, the US ambassador said.
According to the representative of the US government, his country is willing to share the lessons learned during the 247 years of independence, particularly in the field of democracy as a political system that guarantees prosperity and sustainable development.
The US ambassador underlined that “the bridge of the future is the democratic bridge”, and that this must be a democracy that produces positive results for its people.
The diplomat added that strong democracies benefit from transparency and accountability and that, for that reason, the United States is proud to support Angola’s commitment to the eradication of corruption.
Mushingi highlighted Angola’s leadership in building peace and transatlantic regional stability, whose aim is to protect people from threats, whether from public health, political instability or terrorism.
As regard economic cooperation and investment, the diplomat noted that US companies such as Chevron and Exxon Mobil are currently operating in Angola in the oil sector and renewable energy, including the photovoltaic plants in Benguela.
He added that the US investment in Angola entails the telecommunications sector, via mobile operator Africel, which now has 7.7 million customers, as well as the new Afrimoney programme with 250,000 agents, amongst others.
According to the ambassador, the US government’s top priority is to build a future without barriers between the two countries in years to come and to strengthen commercial diplomacy, security and good governance and improve the business environment
Source: Angola Press News Agency