Addis Ababa - Angolan Foreign Affairs minister, Téte António, highlighted Wednesday, in Addis Ababa, the importance of the strategic partnership between the African Union (AU) and the European Union (EU) for the development of African countries.
The Angolan Foreign minister was speaking to the press on the sidelines of the 42nd Ordinary Session of the Executive Council of the African Union, which is preparing the 36th Summit of Heads of State and Government of the organisation, to be held Saturday and Sunday.
According to the minister, the partnerships that the AU has established with other continents and countries are necessary, underlining that they should be adapted to current circumstances and make the African continent benefit effectively from them.
"There is a strategic partnership between the AU and the EU, but Spain also has a cooperation plan with the African continent", said the minister, to whom Spain's partnership with Africa was evident in the recent visit by King Felipe VI to Angola.
The minister added that Angola’s Finance minister, Vera Daves de Sousa, is due to take up the helm of the African Union’s Finance Committee.
The AU Executive Council examined the progress report on the establishment and operation of the African Medicines Agency (AMA).
In this regard, the Health minister, Sílvia Lutucuta, said Angola will support the initiative, having stressed the need for the country to be an active participant of the continental organisation.
The minister recalled that in Angola the Medicines and Equipment Regulatory Entity has already been created by presidential decree.
The Health minister underscored the need for the African continent to be more organised, as it suffers a lot from counterfeit medicines.
"We have to establish partnerships so that we have an organised industry and effective production of medicines on the continent and guarantee their certification", Lutucuta said.
This year, the 36th Summit of the AU Heads of State and Government is being held under the theme "Accelerating the Implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AFCFTA)”.
To the minister of Industry and Trade, Victor Fernandes, with this theme the Summit will cement the commitment that the Heads of State and Government have to implement the AFCFTA.
"We are very hopeful that, with this Summit, we will come out with a schedule of actions that will, effectively, bring about speed", Fernandes said.
The Trade minister said he was confident that the African Continental Free Trade Area will contribute to increased trade among member states.
The African Continental Free Trade Area (ACFTA) is a flagship project of Agenda 2063, which aims to create a single African market for goods and services facilitated by free movement of people and capital.
It aims to deepen economic integration, promote and achieve sustainable and inclusive socio-economic development, gender equality, industrialisation, agricultural development, food security, structural transformation and inclusive human development.
By fostering close collaboration with all relevant AU organs and specialised agencies, the 2023 theme aims to contribute to accelerating the implementation of the AFCFTA Agreement and contribute to the achievement of the aspirations and objectives of the Agenda2063.
Applications at the AU
Angola participated Wednesday, in Addis Ababa, in the AU Ministerial Commission for Applications within the International System, on the sidelines of the 42nd Ordinary Session of the continental organisation's Executive Council.
The event assessed the report on the implementation of previous decisions, elections of member state representatives, success factors and challenges, as well as applications that require further action.
Angola was represented at the meeting by the secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, Esmeralda Mendonça.
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