WINDHOEK: The leaders of Angola and Namibia have expressed the need for the two southern African countries to collaborate in various economic sectors.

This is among the outcomes of President Nangolo Mbumba’s bilateral talks with his Angolan counterpart, João Lourenço, when they met in Luanda on Tuesday.

‘The two presidents underlined the need to strengthen cooperation in the areas of oil and gas, energy, agriculture, and water,’ Press Secretary Alfredo Hengari said in a statement.

He said that President Mbumba, who took his first bilateral visit to Angola, emphasised that Namibia had a lot to learn from Angola in the oil and gas sectors. To give effect to the Agreement on Cooperation in Petroleum and Natural Gas, Mbumba toured the Sonangol Integrated Logistics Services (SONILS). The hub was created in 1995 to provide logistical support and related services to the Angolan oil, gas, and energy sectors.

As a result, Hengari said President Mbumba encouraged the leadership of SONILS to work with their Namibian
partners based on a solid and transparent partnership for the benefit of both countries.

Hengari said the two leaders also agreed to convene the Namibia-Angola Binational Commission in the coming months to scale up mutually beneficial cooperation between Namibia and Angola. Additionally, Mbumba and Lourenço also agreed to inaugurate the Cassinga Memorial in the coming months.

Hengari also noted that President Mbumba thanked his Angolan counterpart for the extraordinary material and emotional support his government provided to the people of Namibia following the death of former President Hage Geingob.

Mbumba also toured the Karam Group, a diversified company with steel, nails and pipe operations in Luanda and other parts of Angola.

According to Hengari, the company expressed interest in setting up similar operations for the amount of N.dollars one billion, with a potential 350 employment opportunities.

‘The management team of the company informed the president that they had secured land in Windhoek and we
re hoping to reach a stage when they would commence operations in the near future,’ he said.

Source: The Namibia Press Agency