Luanda: Angola and Serbia are taking another step towards strengthening bilateral cooperation with the state visit of President Joo Louren§o to the European country, starting this Monday. By Francisca Augusto, ANGOP journalist.
According to Angola Press News Agency, the Angolan Head of State will be working in Serbia from June 8th to 10th, focusing on deepening economic and business relations between the two states and peoples. With this visit, the two countries have the opportunity to assess the effectiveness of existing agreements and project new areas of investment, involving the public and private sectors. The highlight will be a meeting between Joo Louren§o and President Aleksandar Vucic on the first day to discuss the future strategy of bilateral relations.
It is expected that, with this state mission, the two countries will find platforms for understanding tailored to the realities of their respective peoples, capable of providing mutual advantages and diversifying existing cooperation. Joo Louren§o's visit to the Republic of Serbia constitutes a new window for attracting Serbian investors, who can take advantage of the business environment in Angola.
Serbia, while still an integral part of the former Yugoslavia, actively supported the liberation struggle and independence of Angola, including political and diplomatic aid, training of personnel, and stood out by becoming the first European country to recognize Angolan independence in 1975, precisely on November 11th. Currently, cooperation relations between the two countries have their legal framework based on a General Agreement that operates in the most varied domains of the country's economic, security, diplomatic and social life, maintaining robust bilateral cooperation extending to trade.
The highlight of this strategic partnership in recent years has been the joint development in the health sector, with advanced talks for the training of Angolan professionals in the specialty of ophthalmology. The two countries have been intensifying economic, diplomatic, academic and sporting ties. The Serbian government has officially invited Angola to participate in Expo-2027 in Belgrade, from May 15 to August 15.
The partnership has been strengthened in recent years with the signing of agreements in the health, youth and sports sectors, as well as the exchange of experiences between federations and clubs, and training in sports medicine and anti-doping. In the area of education, an agreement was signed to provide scholarships to students and teachers in the Angolan province of Bengo. Relations between the two States have been updated in recent years with the revision of the "General Agreement on Economic and Technical-Scientific Cooperation," at a time when high-level diplomatic meetings continue to be promoted (including meetings in the Serbian capital) to reactivate joint commissions and consolidate bilateral partnerships.
The Bilateral Joint Commission, which both countries consider fundamental to strengthening cooperation in various areas of common interest, could boost cooperation, especially in the areas of Agriculture, Livestock and Manufacturing. In 2025, delegations from both States will formalize, in Belgrade, the proposal for the Agreement on the Promotion and Reciprocal Protection of Investments, to be signed by the Ministry of Industry and Commerce of Angola and the Ministry of Economy of Serbia.
They also worked on shaping the proposal for the Air Services Agreement, to be initialed between the National Civil Aviation Agency (ANAC) and the Civil Aviation Directorate of Serbia, in addition to the Cooperation Agreement between the news agencies ANGOP (Angola) and TANJUG (Serbia). Discussions were also finalized on the proposals for the Memorandum of Understanding between the Ministry of Telecommunications, Information Technologies and Social Communication of Angola and the Ministry of Information and Telecommunications of Serbia, in the field of Information and Communication Technologies, and the proposal for the Memorandum of Understanding between the Angolan Post Office and the Serbian Post Office.
The respective agreements and memoranda of understanding should be formally signed by the parties after the diplomatic procedures are completed. On the other hand, in light of the market's potential and ongoing reforms, the Serbian ambassador to Angola, Milos Perisic, recently reported on the holding of several events promoted by Serbia, including the Summit of Non-Aligned Countries, which this year marks 65 years since its first edition.
Serbia is prepared to invest in Angola in a wide variety of fields, lending all its expertise in the areas of knowledge and technology. Angola and Serbia established political-diplomatic and cooperative, technical-scientific and cultural relations on April 25, 1977. Currently, these relations are cordial and have been consolidated with the signing of more than ten agreements and visits by several Angolan delegations to Belgrade between 2020 and 2023.
Serbia has a medium-sized emerging economy in transition. With a strong focus on industrialization and attracting foreign investment, the country has the service sector, accounting for approximately 54% to 60% of its economy, and also stands out as a technological and manufacturing exporter to Europe. Serbia has a GDP of approximately US$89 billion, and a per capita income exceeding US$8,500 (and surpassing US$26,000 in Purchasing Power Parity). The country has a population of approximately 6.6 million inhabitants and an economic structure that is balanced, rapidly modernizing with a focus on exporting higher value-added goods.