Indian and Angolan officials decided to strengthen the relationship in several sectors, including defence and science and technology, while participating in the inaugural Foreign Office Consultations (FOC) between the two countries on Friday.
The meeting was held in Angola's capital city Luanda.
The Indian delegation was led by Additional Secretary (Central & West Africa Division) Sevala Naik Mude.
The Angolan side was represented by Ambassador Esmeralda Bravo Conde Da Silva Mendonca, Secretary of State, Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
A statement issued by the Ministry of External Affairs said: "Both sides carried out a comprehensive review of the existing bilateral relations, including strengthening of cooperation in trade and economic relations, defence, energy, agriculture, development partnership, health and pharmaceuticals, science & technology, culture, and people-to-people ties."
"The two sides also exchanged views on regional and international issues of mutual interest, including cooperation in the UN and other multilateral fora, climate change, International Solar Alliance (ISA) and sustainable development," read the statement.
The First Joint Commission Meeting, co-chaired by the Foreign Ministers of the two countries, was held in September 2020.
It had provided fresh impetus to the bilateral relations of the two countries.
Both sides are keen to explore new avenues of cooperation.
Healthy bilateral growth in last three years
The bilateral trade between India and Angola has shown a healthy growth trend during the last three years and has increased from USD 2.14 billion during 2020-21 to USD 4.22 billion in 2022-23.
India is the 3rd largest trading partner of Angola sharing about 10 percent of Angola’s external trade. India’s import from Angola is primarily driven by crude oil which is 3 percent of our global oil import.
"There was detailed talk on available opportunities for enhanced cooperation in the fields of rough diamonds trade, agriculture, food processing and Defence cooperation including Government of India’s offer of an LOC of USD 100 million to Angola for Defence procurement. Both sides exchanged views on diversification of the trade basket for mutual benefit," read the statement.
