Despite having been postponed, Portugal is still preparing the PM’s visit to Angola
António Costa's visit to Angola was postponed. Both governments are seeking to reschedule the trip and, therefore, Portugal resumes preparations.
The Portuguese government said it is continuing to prepare the ground for the prime minister’s planned visit to Angola this spring, despite its counterpart in Luanda having unexpectedly postponed the visit by Portugal’s minister of justice scheduled for this Wednesday.
“Preparations for the prime minister’s visit, on the Portuguese side, continue normally”, the Portuguese minister of Foreign Affairs, Augusto Santos Silva, told journalists after a hearing of parliament’s committee on European affairs. “We presented various possible dates for the visit to take place and are awaiting a response from the Angolan authorities”.
Santos Silva himself visited Angola from 10 to 12 February, on a trip whose declared aim was to boost bilateral cooperation and prepare a visit by the prime minister, António Costa, this spring.
We presented various possible dates for the visit to take place and are awaiting a response from the Angolan authorities.
On the postponement sine die of the visit by the justice minister, Francisca Van Dunem, Santos Silva said that the two governments would seek to reschedule the trip. When asked what was the Angolan government’s explanation for the announcement, Santos Silva said: “The justification offered was the need to reconsider a new date (…) I don’t think there are any reservations [on the part of the Angolan governement], but we will see”.
Santos Silva doesn’t believe the decision is linked to the criminal charges against Angola’s vice president Manuel Vicente by Portuguese public prosecutors as part of the Operation Fizz corruption case; the minister stressed the importance of separating the executive and judicial powers.
