A delegation from the European Union was in Lobito (Benguela) this Saturday, to witness the level of engagement of its partnership with Angola in relation to the Lobito Corridor.
Infrastructures at the Port of Lobito and the Benguela Railway deserved special attention from the delegation.
Speaking to the press, the EU ambassador to Angola, Rosária Bento Paiva, stated that they will begin working with greater commitment with the Lobito Atlantic Railway consortium, winner of the tender to explore the Lobito Corridor, already in operation.
“We were now in Huambo to lay the first stone to build the logistics platform for tropical fruits and we came to see in situ the potential of the Corridor to foster a partnership with the EU”, he explained.
He recalled that, during the Angola/EU business forum, on November 17th this year, an agreement on sustainable development was signed that will allow Angola to provide the viability of several investments from now on.
“This will help create a business environment so that private companies can come with more capacity and more confidence to invest”, he considered.
Rosária Bento Paiva clarified that, within the scope of the “Global Gateway” strategy adopted by the European Union, in 2021, the Lobito Corridor and Barra do Dande are considered two important projects.
He justified the fact that investment amounts were not advanced due to the fact that the projects are in the impact studies and technical assistance phase, and only then will the needs be defined to be able to develop all sectors, such as transport, energy, agriculture and others along the way. of the Corridor.
In turn, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Portugal, João Gomes Cravinho, said it was an opportunity to see in person and draw attention to what is a work of greatest importance for Angola.
“Here we have the Lobito Corridor that will flow into this city. A partially natural and constructed work that allows exceptional conditions to ensure that minerals from the DRC and Zambia and agricultural production from the central plateau can reach Porto, and from there go to the rest of the world, particularly Europe.
According to the minister, the world is changing in several directions, namely energy and access to raw materials, hence the need for new infrastructure.
In turn, the President of the Board of Directors of Porto do Lobito, Celso Rosas, believes that more investments will come and therefore, Porto in particular will gain a lot from this project.
“We are facing signs that the Lobito Corridor will work because, increasingly, our partners believe in what exists and what they see”, he stated.
The PCA also added that the Corridor’s potential will make the project successful.
The EU delegation included the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Portugal, the ambassadors of Belgium, Portugal and Spain, as well as businesspeople from their countries.