ANGOLA – A delegation of businessmen from the UAE visited the province of Namibe in Angola to express their country’s interest in investing in various sectors of the province with emphasis on agriculture, livestock and tourism, more specifically camel breeding.
This delegation was led by the minister adviser to the president of the UAE, Abdulla Mubarak Saeed Mohammed Almheiri.
Almheiri said that he had seen the province’s potential and was keen on creating opportunities for the possible implementation of different projects with the objective of strengthening the existing cooperation between the two countries.
During the visit, his delegation was particularly impressed with the similar geographic characteristics the province of Namibe has to the Emirates.
They claimed to have identified several areas that are fit for investments, with more emphasis on camel breeding.
Mr Almheiri said that he will take his findings to technicians in his country and soon communicate further instructions and information.
According to the provincial governor of Namibe, the visit to the province followed bilateral meetings recently held between the president of Angola João Lourenço and the president of UAE, Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan.
“More missions are to come, but this one is focused on camel breeding and also projects within the scope of the development of livestock in the province”, he said.
According to Archer Mangueira, an Angolan politician, the delegation was enthusiastic about the work going on in farms around the province as they believed that there is a capacity to do more even with the existing difficulties.
Angola has the natural resources to become a leading agricultural producer in Africa with its diverse and fertile ecology that is suited for a variety of crops and livestock.
In 2021, agriculture accounted for 9.5% of Angola’s gross domestic product which was US$74 billion.
However, the nation currently only cultivates 10% of its arable land which amounts to 35 million hectares.
An estimated 88% of the farms in Angola are small-scale and mainly used for communal and subsistence farming.
The economy deteriorated after the civil war before which Angola used to be a major exporter of coffee, sisal, sugarcane and cotton and was self-sufficient in all basic food crops.
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