English Translation of Press Statement by President during State Visit to Angola

I am delighted to be in Luanda. This is the first State visit by an Indian President to Angola. I express my thanks to His Excellency President Lourenço for his gracious invitation to participate in the celebrations of Angola's 50th independence as well as this opportunity for a State Visit. I also express my gratitude to the Government and the people of Angola for the warm welcome extended to me and my delegation. My team includes our Minister of State, Shri V. Somanna, and two Honourable Members of Parliament, Shri P. Vasava and Smt. D.K. Aruna.

On your 50th Independence Day, I bring with me the warm wishes on behalf 140 crore Indians. India has supported Angola's struggle for independence as part of its anti-colonial efforts and closely cooperated with Angola's reconstruction and development after independence.

We applaud Angola's progress and development efforts for the prosperity of its people. We also congratulate Angola on its leadership as the current Chair of the African Union.

This year is an important milestone in India-Angola relations, as we mark 40 years of diplomatic ties. In May, we had the honour of welcoming His Excellency President Lourenço to India on his first State Visit. His visit provided us with an opportunity to review all aspects of our close bilateral relations. Along with Line of Credit for defence procurement, we also signed three MoUs - in agriculture; in traditional medicine and Ayurveda; and in cultural cooperation.

The partnership between India and Angola is based on mutual trust, respect, and a shared vision for the prosperous future of our people. We are working closely to enhance our bilateral partnership and to exchange views on regional and global issues.

Today, President Lourenço and I held wide-ranging discussions on all aspects our bilateral cooperation and strengthening our regional cooperation.

Our economic partnership is based on a vibrant energy partnership. We agreed to further diversify trade and investment relations in new areas, including technology, agriculture, health, defence, infrastructure, and people-to-people ties.

The President and I agreed that we will keep working together to deepen our cooperation in different bilateral areas, including in the wider context of the India-Africa Forum Summit.

We have also signed two MoUs - one on cooperation in fisheries, aquaculture and marine resources; and another on consular matters. We also agreed to take forward our Air Services Agreement. Angola has decided to join the International Big Cat Alliance (IBCA) and the Global Biofuels Alliance (GBA), and we warmly welcome Angola's membership in both these alliances.

Tomorrow afternoon, I will meet the President of the National Assembly of Angola and address the Hon'ble Members of the Angolan Parliament. As the world's largest democracy, India looks forward to strengthening parliamentary cooperation with Angola. I also look forward to meeting members of the Indian community.

Once again, I express my heartfelt gratitude to President Lourenço for his warm welcome and hospitality. I strongly believe that my visit shall pave the way to further strengthen our bilateral relations and friendship.

Thank you very much.

Luanda
November 09. 2025

DISCLAIMER -This is the approximate translation of President's remarks. Original remarks were delivered in Hindi.