On Nov. 11, the Republic of Angola celebrates the 49th Anniversary of the Proclamation of its National Independence, an event of transcendental importance and singular significance for the Angolan people.

The commemoration of the 49th anniversary of national independence prompts all Angolans to reflect on the great achievements, the difficulties faced, the vicissitudes overcome, the victories and conquests achieved, the accomplishments made, looking to the future that we are building, despite the economic adversities.

With 18 provinces currently, Angola is a territory of 1,246,700 square kilometers, with a population of 35 million inhabitants, and a unitary state with a presidential system of government. It was a colony of Portugal for 500 years and achieved its national independence on Nov. 11, 1975, proclaimed by Dr. Antonio Agostinho Neto, the first president and founder of the Angolan nation.

Angola borders the Republic of Namibia, the Democratic Republic of Congo, the Republic of Congo and Zambia and has a long coastline with the Atlantic Ocean. Angola also has a mostly tropical climate and fertile soils suitable for a range of agricultural crops, especially coffee, bananas, cassava and corn.

The commemoration of national independence is a circumstantial moment for Angolans to align themselves with everything that has been done and is being done for the development of the country and the well-being of the Angolan people, with emphasis on social and economic development actions.

Building rule of law in Angola and social action

The Angolan government is currently working to maintain political and social stability, consolidate the peace achieved in 2002 after many years of internal armed conflict, and build a democratic society based on the rule of law and respect for the Constitution and the law.

Within the framework of the rule of law, efforts have been made to ensure the interdependence, strengthening and functioning of the institutions of national sovereignty. Among the various important normative instruments approved in recent years are the Laws to Prevent and Combat Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing, the new Penal Code, the Prohibition of Cryptocurrency Mining Activities and Other Vulnerable Assets and the Law on Domestic Violence, Vandalism Crimes and Public Service Assets, among others, as well as the approval of various plans and programs, such as the Action Plan for State Reform until 2027, the Agenda for the Digital Transition in Public Administration and the Project for the Construction of the Public Administration Interoperability Platform, important instruments for improving administrative modernization and sharing information between the various public services, allowing public administration to provide better services. The process of reforming the law and justice system is also proceeding apace, with a view to gradually consolidating the rule of law.

As far as social actions are concerned, improving the quality of medical care and medication for the Angolan population continues to be one of the Angolan government's main concerns and priorities. The results obtained in recent years, despite the fact that some difficulties remain, are very encouraging, particularly considering the focus on local services and increasing access to primary health care. In Angola, a truly structural transformation of the National Health Service is underway, with the aim of covering the entire national territory. Of the more than 30 million consultations carried out by the end of the first half of 2024, around 73 percent correspond to primary health care. As of 2017, 3,346 units had been built to expand the health network, including 3,094 health posts and centers, 173 municipal hospitals, 23 provincial hospitals, 34 specialized hospitals and 22 central hospitals.

To keep up with the dynamics of technological development in the field of health, this year the Angolan government started the Robotic Surgery Implementation Program, supported by specialists from the United States. As part of improving the quality of health infrastructure, the Angolan government has been building new health units, acquiring state-of-the-art equipment as well as investing seriously in training staff in the sector, whose plan for specializing health professionals foresees, in the short term, training around 38,000 health professionals, with an emphasis on training family health teams for primary health care, with the aim of ensuring proximity services.

Within the framework of the social component, it should also be emphasized that the educational process, especially for children from poorer families, investment in children and youth, particularly in education and academic and professional training, is one of the Angolan government's priorities.

To this end, the government has approved various programs to support children and young people, including the School Meals Program and the increase in internal scholarships to reduce the costs for needy families. Also noteworthy is the National Plan for the Development of Sport, to raise awareness of sports in schools and communities.

Despite the still lower number of senior executives available and the advancement of new technologies, Angola has been looking to developed countries for partnerships, as it has with the Republic of Korea since 1993. In this context, it should be noted that the Angolan government has also approved a program to send citizens to world-class universities for academic training and specialization at master's and doctoral levels in the most diverse areas of science and technology.

The Angolan government has also created a number of projects and programs, including the Kwenda Program for social support for the productive inclusion of families, supported by the World Bank with an additional loan of 400 million, which has been providing beneficiary families with improvements in food and nutritional security, access to basic social services, as well as direct investment in agricultural production, livestock and small commercial activities, which is expected to run until 2029, benefiting thousands of vulnerable Angolan families.

Economic development, diversification

As part of economic development, the Angolan state continues to invest in changing Angola's economic structure, exploiting all the existing potential to relaunch and diversify the economy, encourage domestic and foreign private investment, promote growth, generate employment and make the country economically sustainable. The diversification of the economy and attracting foreign investment has allowed new private foreign investment to enter Angola, which has gradually contributed to the stability of the Angolan economy.

With regard to diversification, the government has defined the tourism sector as one of the keys to Angola's development. To this end, it has adopted the best international practices for promoting tourism and, in this sector, has identified measures to support tourism companies, with an aim to ensure the satisfaction of tourists who visit the country.

Of particular note in this regard is the exemption of tourist visas for 90 countries, including Korea, making it possible for citizens of these countries to obtain visas as soon as they arrive in Angola at Luanda International Airport. These measures aim to gradually increase the growth of tourism and make it sustainable, both in terms of the number of tourists and the revenue generated.

Mausoleum of Agostinho Neto, the first president of Angola, who proclaimed the independence of Anglola, toward Africa and the world. Courtesy of Embassy of Angola in Seoul

As unemployment is one of the biggest scourges facing young people in Angola, the government has been implementing a National Employment Agenda as a means of improving the coordination of the various public and private initiatives, having already institutionalized a National Employment Fund, with an initial budget of 21 billion Kwanzas ($23 million) to support the most diverse initiatives.

In this area, the focus is on vocational training for young Angolans. In 2024, the number of Vocational Training Centers increased from 1,313 to 1,646. It should be noted that in the first half of 2024, the gross unemployment rate was 32.3 percent, which is still below the target. As a result of the various measures to stimulate the economy, 292,689 net jobs were created.

With regard to unemployment, the government is working hard to increase domestic production, reducing imports and, in this sense, is making a greater commitment to the Angolan economy, giving priority to the agriculture sector. The 2023/2024 agricultural year saw overall agricultural production of 28,034,707 tons, representing growth of 13.1 percent over the previous year. Of particular note here was the production of commercial coffee, which amounted to 7,500 tons, of which 1,700 tons were exported, representing a 19 percent increase in coffee exports.

In 2023, the manufacturing industry accounted for 11.4 percent of non-oil GDP and 8 percent of total GDP, having generated more than 35,000 new jobs, particularly for young Angolans, representing growth of 68 percent compared to the same period last year.

Despite the difficulties resulting from the international economic situation, Angola is working hard toward structural transformation, seeking to reverse the prevalence of a country that is eminently an importer to a country capable of producing a substantial part of the products that are widely consumed, paying particular attention to the most vulnerable populations who are experiencing the greatest social difficulties.

With regard to electrification and the distribution of drinking water in rural areas, the government considers electrification and the distribution of drinking water to the population to be a priority. In this context, electrification projects are underway in around 75 locations in different provinces, with more than 250,000 new household connections expected to be made. The projects include investment, currently being approved by Eximbank of the United States of America, for the electrification of a further 126 towns in Angola and others are being financed by Korea Eximbank.

In the field of water, by the end of 2027, water production and supply is expected to increase to 750,000 cubic meters per day, which will make it possible for 7 million more people to benefit from the precious liquid. Similarly, resources are being mobilized with a view to implementing various projects to Combat the Effects of Drought in the South of Angola, as is already being done in Cunene province, the province most affected by the drought.

Within the framework of the government's National Program, the construction of infrastructure continues to play an important role for the national economy, both in the land, air, rail and maritime domains. The Lobito Corridor is today a landmark whose strategic importance transcends Angola's borders. Through international initiatives, namely from the U.S., the European Union and also international development and financial institutions, interest in financing the extension of the Lobito Corridor to the Republic of Zambia (from Luacano to Solwezi, a 700 km stretch) is being consolidated, representing an overall investment that could amount to $4.5 billion. Angola plans to launch an international public tender for the Namíbe Corridor concession, which could be another important lever for the development of the south of the country.

Also in the area of infrastructure improvement and construction, significant progress has been made with the concessions for the Container and General Cargo Terminals at the Port of Lobito and the Polyvalent and Multipurpose Terminal at the Port of Luanda, which have so far generated around $380 million in revenue for the state, in addition to the benefits that will accrue from the modernization of port infrastructures. Likewise, the government is preparing the conditions for launching the tenders for the concession of the Maritime and River Passenger and Cargo Terminals in Cabinda and Soyo (northern Angola), hoping that this will improve cabotage activity and facilitate the flow of goods, boosting regional trade, along with the Caio Deep Water Port Terminal in Cabinda, which will allow large ships to dock, increasing cargo handling and promoting regional and international trade.

By the end of 2025, the Integrated Development Project for the Bay of Moçâmedes (southern Angola) is expected to be completed, thereby modernizing the Port of Namibe and the Sacomar Ore Terminals, expanding the Container Terminal and upgrading the Moçâmedes waterfront.

With regard to the Information Technology and Telecommunications Sector, it should be noted that the challenges of competitiveness imposed by today's increasingly digital world require countries to change their technological paradigm. The Angolan government has therefore been working to ensure the availability of telecommunications for both individuals and companies. In this regard, Angola has approved a White Paper on Information and Communication Technologies, to serve as an important tool to support business. Today Angola has more than 25,744,000 internet users, through the Conecta Angola project, which uses the technological resources of the Angolan satellite ANGOSAT-2 to increase the availability of internet access in remote areas.

Efforts continue to be made to build robust telecommunications and information technology infrastructure, capable of covering and serving the entire national territory, including the forthcoming implementation of the national broadband network project.

In the area of oil and gas production, Angola has an average production capacity of 1,138,467 barrels per day, according to February 2024 data, and an average daily production capacity of 2,571 million cubic feet of natural gas. Until 2023 it was a member of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, but for objective reasons it withdrew from that world organization.

In this important sector, Angola has been continuing with the Oil and Gas Development and Consolidation Program, with the main focus on increasing the rate of reserve replacement and materializing opportunities to ensure that production levels remain above 1 million barrels of crude oil per day. To this end, it has made 12 oil exploration blocks available to private investors in the Lower Congo and Kwanza onshore basins, with six blocks having been awarded by public tender. The government is also working to intensify the exploration of natural gas and speed up the research and evaluation of this important resource, considering its usefulness for electricity production and domestic consumption.

With the Falcão 2 Project, the aim is to increase treatment capacity by more than 50 million cubic feet of gas per day, create a gas industry in Angola, supplying gas to the future ammonia and urea plant being built in Soyo, Zaire province, as well as completing the installation of a gas platform in Block 0, which will send 420 million cubic feet of natural gas per day to the Angola LNG plant.

In this chapter, it is worth noting that the Cabinda Refinery, which is well under construction, should start operating in 2025, refining around 30,000 barrels per day in the first phase, rising to 60,000 barrels per day once the second phase is completed. Work continues on consolidating the technical studies, as well as the structure and financing strategy by the promoter for the construction of the Soyo Refinery. Angola continues to work on the construction of the Lobito Refinery, the largest in the country, sized to refine 200,000 barrels of crude per day, with the construction of an important petrochemical industry park associated with it and the possibility of building an oil pipeline to Zambia.

Angola also has plenty of diamonds and other rare minerals. The Angolan government has been working to consolidate the diversification of mineral exploration, with the prospect of its first Diamond Exchange, a structure that will play a fundamental role in this area. As far as gold mining is concerned, 10 mining projects are currently in full operation, especially those in the provinces of Huíla and Cabinda. To continue boosting the gold chain, the Gold Refinery is under construction in Luanda province, with the prospect of starting operations in 2025.

On completing 49 years of independence, the perspective portrait that we have just made available to Korean public opinion, especially the business class, allows to accumulate a great deal of knowledge and to provide reliable information for future options capable of enabling the establishment of economic partnerships between Angola and Korea.

This article is provided by the Embassy of Angola in Seoul.