Last updated in January 2010
Political relations
Political relations between Germany and Angola have increasingly intensified in recent years. Both countries are eager to further consolidate bilateral relations and place them on a broader footing.
In December 2007, Federal Economics Minister Glos and the Angolan Finance Minister de Morais signed a declaration of intention to further intensify economic and technological cooperation. The high point in bilateral relations so far was the official visit to Berlin by Angola’s President dos Santos, accompanied by several government ministers, from 26 to 28 February 2009. Dos Santos held political talks with Federal President Köhler and Federal Chancellor Merkel and gave a keynote address to the second German-Angolan Business Forum. During the visit, a German-Angolan cultural and education agreement and a further joint declaration of intent to step up economic cooperation were signed. In mid-June 2009, State Secretary of the Federal Foreign Office Peter Ammon and Goethe Institute President Jens-Uwe Lehmann opened the Goethe-Institute’s facilities in Luanda. Accompanied by economic experts, State Secretary Ammon held high-level talks on intensifying economic cooperation. It was also agreed to undertake initial steps to establish a political partnership.
Economic relations
Economic relations between Germany and Angola are increasingly gaining momentum. This is reflected in particular in the volume of German exports, which has grown since the end of the civil war in 2002 from EUR 56 million to EUR 402 million in 2008. Annual imports from Angola vary depending on the amount of petroleum imported; in 2008 they were worth approximately EUR 468 million. While crude oil and natural gas account for nearly 96 per cent of German imports from Angola, motor vehicles and equipment make up 76 per cent of German exports to Angola. Within a short period, Angola has become Germany’s third most important trading partner in sub-Saharan Africa (after South Africa and Nigeria).
German companies are showing a constantly increasing interest in helping rebuild Angola’s infrastructure. As a result, a German-Angolan Business Initiative (DAWI) was set up in 2007. Its members include German companies that have been operating in Angola for many years as well as influential private and state-owned Angolan enterprises.
Anevent testifying to the new quality of bilateral economic relations was the second German-Angolan Business Forum, which was held on 27 February 2009 and attended by President dos Santos. A large number of German and Angolan entrepreneurs met at the Forum, during which several private-sector cooperation agreements were concluded. The third German-Angolan Business Forum is to be held in Luanda in 2010.
The investment protection and promotion agreement that came into force in 2007, Lufthansa’s establishment of a second direct flight to Luanda in June 2009 and the opening of an office of the Delegation of German Industry and Commerce in Luanda at the beginning of January 2010 are further milestones in economic relations between the two countries.
Since 1999, Germany has been a regular exhibitor at the international industry and trade fair FILDA in Luanda, a regular annual fixture in the local business calendar.
Angola is a partner country of German development cooperation. Since 1992, three Technical Cooperation projects in pro-development emergency assistance have been implemented. Two of these were incorporated in the integrated programme on local development and reintegration in 2003. From 2007 to 2009, former soldiers received training at a gamekeepers’ school – established and equipped with project funding – for deployment in nature reserves under a post-conflict programme. For the next three years, a technical and vocational training project is planned.
Cultural relations
Over 2,000 Angolans studied in the German Democratic Republic or were trained there as experts. This group, which includes some ministers, has a continuing affinity with Germany and the German language. Other Angolans moved to West Germany after reunification, some of them remaining there for around 20 years. There are an increasing number of returnees to Angola with an excellent command of German and also with dual nationality.
The signing of the German-Angolan cultural agreement in February 2009 and the opening of the Goethe Institute on 15 June 2009 created the foundations for a systematic language-work and general culture programme for the interested Angolan public. However, insufficient staff and institutional resources mean that it is not yet possible to meet demand, especially for language courses.
The Friedrich Ebert Foundation has an office in Angola, which is likely to be operational again as of April 2010. Its activities focus on trade unions, civil society institutions and the Angolan parliament. The Konrad Adenauer Foundation conducts civic education programmes from its headquarters in Windhoek.
