Meet With Deputy Foreign Minister Dos Santos Varela, Deputy Minister Of Foreign Affairs Tata: Angola Indonesia's Key Partner In Africa

JAKARTA - Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Indonesia, Arrmanatha C. Nasir, welcomed the opening of the Angola Embassy in Jakarta, saying the country is an important partner of Indonesia in the African continent.

This was stated by Deputy Foreign Minister Arrmanatha during a bilateral meeting with the Secretary of State/Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs for Administration, Finance and Cultural Heritage of the Republic of Angola, Osvaldo Dos Santos Varela at the Embassy of the Republic of Angola in Jakarta, Wednesday, April 30.

In a meeting held before the inauguration, the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Indonesia conveyed Indonesia's positive response to the opening of the Angola Embassy in Jakarta.

"Angola is Indonesia's key partner in Africa and also in South-South cooperation. The opening of the Angola Embassy in the midst of the 70th Anniversary of the Asia-Africa Conference is an important momentum for friendship and increased relations between the two countries," said Deputy Foreign Minister Arrmanatha in a statement from the Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Thursday, May 1.

In this bilateral meeting, both parties emphasized their commitment to strengthening bilateral cooperation in various fields.

First, both parties emphasize the importance of strengthening bilateral cooperation both through the ongoing Political Consultation mechanism and through the Joint Commission for Bilateral Cooperation (JCBC) which is expected to be signed by the Foreign Minister of the two countries in the near future.

In addition, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Dos Santos Varela also hopes to immediately resolve various memorandums of understanding between the two countries, especially in the fields of oil and gas, industry, fisheries and marine resources, as well as diplomatic training.

In the economic sector, the two countries also agreed on the importance of diversifying non-oil and gas trade commodities, expanding market access and providing tariff benefits for the leading commodities of the two countries.

One of these efforts is through the establishment of the Indonesia-Angola Preferential Trade Agreement (PTA), which was delayed since October 2021.

Indonesia is also ready to support Angola's vision of becoming the main producer of the agricultural and fisheries sector in the Sub-Saharan area of Africa in the next five years, through an international development cooperation scheme.

In line with the diversification effort, Indonesia itself will continue to strengthen cooperation in the oil and gas sector with Angola in order to achieve national energy security.

Angola on the other hand offers cooperation in the critical mineral sector, which is also one of Indonesia's top priorities.

In the field of regional cooperation, Indonesia also expressed appreciation and support for Angola's leadership as President of the African Union in 2025. The two countries agreed to explore the potential for cooperation between ASEAN and the African Union.

Ending the meeting, the two Deputy Ministers agreed to continue working together in reforming the multilateral system.

"The opening of the Angola Embassy in the midst of global uncertainty is also a good signal for increasing South-South cooperation, especially in creating fairer global governance," concluded Deputy Foreign Minister Arrmanatha.