President for Angola visit

PRESIDENT Emmerson Mnangagwa is expected to meet Angolan President Joao Lourenco in Luanda today.

The President is currently paying courtesy calls on Sadc regional leaders after taking over from Cde Robert Mugabe who resigned on November 21 last year.

President Mnangagwa visited South Africa last month and met President Jacob Zuma.

Presidential spokesperson Mr George Charamba yesterday said: “The President is paying courtesy calls on regional Heads of State and Government. We started with South Africa and we are going to Angola tomorrow (today) to do the same. We will go to Namibia on Monday then Zambia and Botswana, among other countries. That is the format. If you have been appointed a President, you must pay courtesy calls on elders in the region.”

President Lourenco, a former Defence Minister, also took over as Angolan President in September last year.

The second Angolan President since independence succeeded Jose Eduardo Dos Santos, who led the oil-rich country for 38 years.

Zimbabwe and Angola have bilateral relations in various areas.

There has also been constant exchange of notes between the countries’ revolutionary parties, Zanu-PF and Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA).

The countries’ defence forces have also been beefing up their relations through various exchange programmes.

Angola has vast oil reserves and has now overtaken Nigeria as the largest oil producer in Africa.

During his maiden foreign assignment in South Africa, President Mnangagwa took the opportunity to meet businesspeople based there and appealed to them to return home and exploit investment opportunities presented by the new dispensation.

He said Zimbabwe was now open for investment in all sectors and his administration was doing everything possible to create a conducive environment for investors by amending various pieces of legislation.

He outlined several business opportunities presented by the new dispensation, giving an example of the $400 million National Railways of Zimbabwe deal which Government awarded to Zimbabweans in the Diaspora.

President Mnangagwa called for dialogue and regular engagement between Government, the Diaspora and private sector, saying concerted efforts were needed to turnaround the country’s economy.