The Angolan Chancellor, Manuel Domingos Augusto, was the first international authority to be received by the new brazilian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ernesto Araújo. The two met early in the morning of Wednesday (January 2) in Brasilia. He argued that Angola must continue to be a strategic partner in Brazil. “Chancellor Araújo has reinforced his desire to continue negotiating not only with Angola, but with all of Africa,” says he. “We will continue working to improve relations between Brazil and Angola, which are already exceptional. We have a great economic potential that can be further explored”, he adds.
Manuel Domingos Augusto revealed that he does not believe in the statements of President Jair Bolsonaro, who, during the presidential campaign, said that Brazilian diplomacy would be focused on the most relevant countries in global trade. He also told that the talk also revolved around the fight against corruption. The theme, according to him, is a priority for both the governments.
On the situation of refugees and illegal immigrants, the Angolan chancellor recalled that his country has a permanent cooperation with Brazil and that both are sharing the same problem. “Of every four Angolans who come to Brazil, three of them are not truly Angolans. We have a very porous border, so we are also victims of illegal immigration. Today we have more than two million illegal people in our country and our authorities have been working to contain this issue”, he laments.
Manuel Domingos Augusto was very optimistic for a strengthening on the relationship between Brazil and Angola and also recalled that the Brazilian Vice President, Hamilton Mourão, lived in Angola for a year. The meeting happened on a day where both the Brazilian president and the new chancellor Ernesto Araújo dedicated their agendas to receive the foreign authorities who came to accompany the inauguration ceremony of Jair Bolsonaro. Authorities from 46 countries attended the event on Tuesday, January 1. Among them were ten heads of state, including the Presidents of Portugal, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, and Cape Verde, Jorge Carlos Fonseca.