The non-oil sector of the Angolan economy could grow by 3.42%, being decisive in the global economic growth forecast for 2023, according to the Minister of State for Economic Coordination, Manuel Nunes Júnior.
According to the minister, who was speaking at the inauguration ceremony of the new members of the Board of Directors of the Private Investment and Export Promotion Agency (AIPEX), for 2023, an overall growth of the Angolan economy of 3.3 %, against 2.7% predicted for 2022.
Faced with this scenario, the Minister of State called for the need to consolidate and deepen this growth “driven by the non-oil economy”, in which the private sector is the main actor.
For Manuel Nunes Júnior, this must be the focus of all government action so that Angola has a strong and sustained economy, less dependent on oil and able to face external shocks.
The minister highlighted the sectors of agriculture and livestock, fisheries, manufacturing industry, extractive industry, tourism and others in the non-oil field as areas that should deserve the attention of government authorities in the near future.
He also pointed out the programs to encourage grain production (Planagrão), livestock and fisheries as projects that will have “a great impact on increasing national production in the country” next year.
The official added that the General State Budget (OGE-2023) foresees resources for these three programmes, both for public investments and for credit support to entrepreneurs who are dedicated to the productive sector.
For the success of these programmes, he continued, AIPEX plays a major role in attracting national and foreign private investment, as well as promoting partnerships between entrepreneurs.
According to the Minister of State, the coexistence of national and foreign private investment in the country will make growth and increase in production faster, more efficient and sustained.
Therefore, he appealed that AIPEX should continue to work intensively to attract foreign private investment to bring financial capital, knowledge and advanced technology to the country.
“The present Board of Directors has the necessary knowledge and experience to do a differentiated job, presenting concrete results, in the short, medium and long term, with regard to attracting investments”, he underlined.
According to Manuel Nunes Júnior, the country needs these results so that economic diversification becomes more and more a fact in Angola and, consequently, increases in jobs with better wages, aiming at improving the living conditions of citizens.
In turn, the chairman of the Board of Directors of AIPEX, Lello João Francisco, assured that he will increasingly reinforce the Institution’s intervention so that the objectives are achieved.
He pointed to strengthening the creation of a favorable business environment in Angola as one of the challenges of AIPEX, in 2023.
The swearing-in of the new members of the Board of Directors of the Private Investment and Export Promotion Agency follows the appointment of individuals, made by the President of the Republic, João Lourenço, last Tuesday.
Pursuant to the appointment of the holder of the Executive Power, Lello João Francisco assumes the position of Chairman of the Board of Directors, while Cláudia Gonçalves Pedro, Neide Natalécia Cardoso Miguel dos Santos, José Chinjamba and José Afonso Gama Sala are the executive directors, respectively.
With this new composition of AIPEX, the President of the Republic ends the mandate of the previous Board of Directors until then chaired by António da Henriques da Silva.