Vucic: Serbia, Angola maintain closest political ties, economic cooperation needs improvement

BELGRADE - Serbia and Angola maintain the closest political and friendly relations, but their economic cooperation needs to be improved, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said after a meeting with Angolan counterpart Joao Manuel Goncalves Lourenco in Belgrade on Tuesday.

"Today, we have the special honour of hosting the President of Angola, Joao Lourenco, in our country. And by saying 'special honour', (I mean that) you would not believe this: the last time an Angolan president was visiting Serbia was 49 years ago, in 1977. And it is incredible how happy and pleased I am today to have succeeded, after many invitations, in hosting Joao Lourenco, a sincere friend of Serbia, our country," Vucic said.

He noted that Angola had gained independence 50 years ago and that Serbia had always supported its great struggle.

"We admired Angola's heroes. I told President Lourenco that I grew up on Yuri Gagarin Street, and the Agostino Neto Street was not far from there, and that, as children, we knew everything about the brave fight of the Angolan people for freedom and independence. I would say that we have had the closest political and friendly relations since those times, and our bilateral political relations have never been called into question," Vucic said.

"We support each other in international institutions and organisations," Vucic noted, adding that he was especially grateful to Lourenco for Angola's support for the territorial integrity of Serbia, just like, always and everywhere, Serbia supported the territorial integrity and interests of Angola.

"We exchanged views on all major political affairs, and I would say that our interests, as well as our political views, are identical on nearly all matters. We are leading two independent and sovereign states that always look after their own interests above all, while trying to be open to cooperation with all big powers and all other countries in the world. What we both pointed out during a plenary meeting, as well as during a tete-a-tete meeting, is that we are not sufficiently satisfied with our economic cooperation, and we believe that we can, and must, change many things and that we can do much about that," Vucic noted.

Lourenco, who arrived in Belgrade on Monday evening, will be in Serbia until Wednesday.

Lourenco: Serbia, Angola advocate global peace, security and multilateralism

BELGRADE - Angolan President Joao Manuel Goncalves Lourenco said on Tuesday in Belgrade Serbia and Angola shared identical views in terms of international politics, advocating global peace, security and multilateralism.

Serbia and Angola advocate a reform of the UN Security Council that would enable it to play its role of preventing wars and armed conflicts, which have become everyday practice in the world, especially in the Middle East and Europe, Lourenco said at a press conference with Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic.

Whenever there are justified reasons for that, the two countries bring their positions closer and try to oppose a negative trend in international politics, he added.

"Large international institutions such as the UN and others are places where both Serbia and Angola, hand in hand, advocate the principles that we believe are those that save the world from trouble. We must undertake everything to save the world from a disaster," Lourenco noted.

He added that he was pleased with the results of his visit to Serbia, which he said were already visible after only a few hours.

"On my own behalf and on behalf of the people of Angola, allow me to thank you for the decoration I have received, the highest Serbia awards to foreign nationals. It is really a decoration, a recognition, not for me as an individual, but for Angola and the people of Angola, and I thank you very much for that, Mr President," Lourenco told Vucic.

Earlier, at a ceremony held at the Palace of Serbia, Lourenco received from Vucic the Order of the Republic of Serbia on a ribbon, the highest state honour awarded by the president of Serbia.

Lourenco bestowed upon Vucic the Order of Agostino Neto, which was Angola's highest state decoration until the introduction of the Order of the National Hero in 2004.

Serbia, Angola exchange ten documents on cooperation

BELGRADE - Serbia and Angola exchanged on Tuesday ten documents on cooperation at a Palace of Serbia ceremony also attended by Presidents Aleksandar Vucic and Joao Manuel Goncalves Lourenco.

"The Agreement between the Republic of Serbia and the Republic of Angola on the Elimination of Double Taxation with Respect to Income Taxes and the Prevention of Tax Evasion and Avoidance was exchanged by Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy Adrijana Mesarovic and Minister of Finance of Angola Vera Esperanca dos Santos Daves de Sousa.

The Agreement between Serbia and Angola on the Mutual Encouragement and Protection of Investments was exchanged by Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy Adrijana Mesarovic and Minister of Industry and Trade of Angola Rui Miguens de Oliveira," the Serbian government said in a statement.

"The Agreement on Air Transport between the Government of the Republic of Serbia and the Government of the Republic of Angola was exchanged by Minister of Construction, Transport and Infrastructure Aleksandra Sofronijevic and Minister of External Relations of Angola Tete Antonio.

The Agreement between the Government of Serbia and the Government of Angola on the engagement in paid activities by members of the families of diplomats and administrative and technical staff of diplomatic missions was exchanged by Ministers of Foreign Affairs of Serbia and Angola, Marko Djuric and Tete Antonio, respectively.

The Memorandum of Understanding between the Government of the Republic of Serbia and the Government of the Republic of Angola on cooperation in the field of agriculture was exchanged by Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Water Management of Serbia Dragan Glamocic and Minister Tete Antonio.

The Memorandum of Understanding between the Ministry of Environmental Protection of the Government of the Republic of Serbia and the Ministry of Environmental Protection of the Republic of Angola on cooperation in the field of environmental protection was exchanged by Minister of Environmental Protection Sara Pavkov and Minister Tete Antonio.

The Memorandum of Understanding between the Ministry of Information and Telecommunications of the Government of Serbia and the Ministry of Telecommunications, Information Technologies and Social Communication of the Republic of Angola on cooperation in the field of information and communication technologies was exchanged by Minister of Information and Telecommunications Boris Bratina and Minister Tete Antonio.

The Memorandum of Understanding between public postal operator Posta Srbije and the National Postal and Telegraph Company on cooperation in the field of postal services was exchanged by Director of Posta Srbije Zoran Andjelkovic and Minister Tete Antonio.

The Agreement on Interagency Cooperation between Tacno d o o from Serbia and the Angola Press Agency from the Republic of Angola was exchanged by Director General of Tacno d o o Jovana Joksimovic and Minister Tete Antonio.

The Memorandum of Understanding between the Development Agency of Serbia (RAS) and the Agency for Private Investment and Export Promotion (AIPEX) was exchanged by Director of the International Cooperation Sector Nikola Jankovic and Chairman of the AIPEX Board of Directors Arlindo das Chagas Rangel," it also said.

Vucic receives Angola's Lourenco

BELGRADE - Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic spoke on Tuesday in Belgrade with Angolan President Joao Manuel Goncalves Lourenco, who is on an official visit to Belgrade, and expressed the belief Lourenco's visit would help to strengthen political and economic ties between Serbia and Angola and to advance cooperation in numerous areas.

"I wished a cordial welcome to the president of Angola and expressed satisfaction with the opening of a new chapter in the friendship between our countries, which is deeply rooted in the legacy of the Non-Aligned Movement and based on mutual respect, understanding and support," Vucic posted on his buducnostsrbijeav Instagram account.

He added that he was convinced Lourenco's visit would lend an additional momentum to the traditional friendship and help to strengthen political and economic relations between Serbia and Angola and to advance cooperation in many areas of mutual interest.

Lourenco, who will be in Serbia until June 10, was welcomed by Vucic outside the Palace of Serbia earlier in the day.