New Year’s Greetings from the Diplomatic Corps

Your Excellency Ambassador Saadia El Alaoui, Dean of the Diplomatic Corps; Your Excellencies, Ambassadors and Heads of Diplomatic Missions; Your Excellencies, Representatives of International Organisations and other foreign entities accredited to the Republic of Angola; Ladies and Gentlemen; Your Excellencies, It is with great honour and appreciation that my wife and I welcome each of you today, distinguished members of the Diplomatic Corps, International Organisations and other foreign entities accredited to the Republic of Angola, to this traditional annual ceremony. This occasion is not only an opportunity to reaffirm the bonds of friendship and cooperation between our countries, but, above all, an opportunity to reflect on the year that has ended, on the challenges that lie ahead for the collective action of our countries, and on the unpredictable, turbulent and dangerous international environment in which we live today. Allow me to extend my most sincere wishes to you all for a New Year of peace, good health, prosperity and well-being, and may this new chapter be guided by stronger political dialogue and a renewed commitment to international cooperation and multilateralism. We listened very attentively to the message delivered by Her Excellency Saadia El Alaoui, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Kingdom of Morocco to the Republic of Angola and Dean of the Diplomatic Corps accredited to Angola. I thank her for the words addressed to my country, as well as for the wishes of well-being and prosperity extended to the Angolan people, to me and to my family. As Your Excellencies are aware, the year that has ended held special significance for Angola, as we celebrated the 50th Anniversary of National Independence, an important milestone in our history that invited us both to celebrate and to reflect deeply on the path we have travelled, the challenges we have faced and the prospects for the future. Fifty years after the proclamation of our National Independence, Angola stands today as a stable country committed to peace, stability, national reconciliation, good governance, democracy, sustainable development and cooperation among nations. Your Excellencies, Over the past year, the Republic of Angola focused its diplomatic efforts on intensifying relations with its partners, with the aim of building an increasingly solid and credible foundation of trust. It was a year marked by several achievements that raised Angola’s international profile, not only through the celebration of the 50th anniversary of National Independence, but also through our assumption, for the first time in our recent history, of the rotating Chairmanship of the African Union, a development that increased the responsibilities of the Republic of Angola both at the continental and global levels. We have exercised this responsibility in a particularly demanding and complex context, characterised by persistent conflicts in several regions of Africa and the world, political instability, recurring coups d’état and democratic setbacks in some parts of Africa, serious health, economic and humanitarian crises, climate and energy challenges, and a worrying weakening of traditional mechanisms for dialogue and international cooperation. As Chair of the African Union, Angola placed at the centre of its agenda the financing of critical infrastructure development in Africa, with particular emphasis on projects that contribute to improving interconnectivity among the various regions of our continent, Africa’s integrated development and the building of **“The Africa We Want.”** It was in this spirit that, in June 2025, we hosted the U.S.–Africa Business Summit in Angola and, in November of the same year, the 3rd Conference on Financing for Infrastructure Development in Africa, with the objective of mobilising investment in strategic infrastructure aligned with the African Union’s Agenda 2063 and the African Continental Free Trade Area. The holding of these two events enabled us to mobilise considerable financial resources for investment in important sectors of Africa’s economic life, including integrated economic corridors, railway networks, transnational highways, the African Single Electricity Market and the development of the African Aviation Master Plan, as well as digital transformation, health, agribusiness and tourism. Likewise, representing Africa, Angola sought to assert the continent’s voice in the main global governance forums, notably the G20 Summit in South Africa, TICAD in Japan, the African Union–European Union Summit in Luanda, the Fourth International Conference on Financing for Development, held in Seville, Spain, and the 80th Session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York. At the various events in which we participated, we advocated positions capable of contributing to the reform of the international financial architecture, fairer access to development financing, the pursuit of sustainable debt solutions and a balanced response to global shocks that disproportionately affect developing countries. We had the opportunity to reaffirm our full support for strengthening the rules-based global trading system, particularly through the ongoing reform processes within the World Trade Organization. We also called upon the G20 to view the African Continental Free Trade Area not merely as an African project, but as an important contribution to the stability of global trade. Within the framework of the positions we have taken, we highlighted the imperative need for Africa’s industrialisation, the development of African human capital and technological innovation. We also emphasised, in specific forums, the importance of committing to a partnership based on equality, mutual respect and shared responsibility as a response to global challenges. The views we expressed at the African Union–European Union Summit deserve particular emphasis. During the Summit, the commitment to the Joint Vision for 2030 was highlighted, aligned with the African Union’s Agenda 2063, the objectives of the European Union and the United Nations 2030 Agenda. Given that the European Union is Africa’s leading trade and investment partner, it was natural for us to seek its support for the implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area and the strengthening of regional value chains, including those involving critical minerals, as well as cooperation on connectivity infrastructure projects. Your Excellencies, We are approaching the end of the rotating Chairmanship of the African Union, which I assumed in February of last year with a commitment to promoting Peace, Security and Stability in Africa, without which the African continent will not be able to fully achieve its development objectives. At the African Union level, the need to bring an end to armed conflicts on the continent was established as an objective. This goal has not yet been achieved, requiring us to continue our efforts to fulfil the aspiration of **Silencing the Guns in Africa**. At no point have we spared any effort to contribute to resolving conflicts on the continent, particularly those affecting Sudan and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Angola continues to play an important role in the peace process in the DRC, with its contributions helping to pave the way for the signing of the peace agreement in Washington on December 4, 2025, between the DRC and Rwanda. This was undoubtedly a significant historic moment that must not be squandered by either party. Both sides share responsibility for its implementation so that lasting peace can be achieved in the Great Lakes region. The ceasefire negotiated in Doha, Qatar, between the Government of the DRC and the M23 must be implemented, while we encourage the Congolese government authorities and civil society to proceed with the inter-Congolese dialogue without further delay. It is our conviction that the challenges Africa continues to face require swift, objective and coordinated responses that go beyond the security dimension and must incorporate other components, such as economic development, social inclusion, good governance and the strengthening of State capacities. When properly implemented, this approach removes the arguments used by those who promote unconstitutional changes of government in Africa in an attempt to justify coups against democracies and legitimately constituted authorities. In light of this reality and given the recurrence of coups d’état on the African continent, there is an increasing need to strengthen measures to discourage and condemn these practices, which are reprehensible in every respect. We take this opportunity to demand the unconditional release of President Mohamed Bazoum, who was deposed in a coup d’état in Niger, as well as Domingos Simões Pereira, President of PAIGC in Guinea-Bissau, a country that recently held elections but where, in an unprecedented case in the history of electoral processes in Africa, the actual election results were never made public. Your Excellencies, The world is facing an alarming reversal of democratic achievements that have already been attained and which, over the past eight decades, have contributed to global peace, stability and security, as well as to the economic and social development of nations. Respect for human rights, the defence of State sovereignty and the territorial integrity of countries have constituted the essential foundation upon which International Law and the norms governing contemporary International Relations were built. Yet, from one moment to the next, these foundations are beginning to crumble, placing at risk all the achievements made by humanity since the end of the Second World War. Against this backdrop, the United Nations finds itself in a situation of genuine humiliation, without the capacity to fulfil the role entrusted to it, a role that for decades was of vital importance in ensuring global stability. This deliberate erosion of the responsibilities of the United Nations is giving rise to international disorder and to the replacement of the rule of law by the law of force. An approach based on double standards does not favour an impartial response to the major political challenges confronting the world today. We must all be aligned on the fundamental importance of multilateralism as the only means of contributing to the restoration of world order and preventing the geopolitical and economic reconfiguration of the world solely for the benefit of the superpowers. In this context, we reiterate the importance of the central role of the United Nations as a guarantor of international peace, stability and security, as well as other indispensable forums for coordination, political dialogue and collective action, which are increasingly necessary to prevent the redrawing of borders in Europe, Africa, the Middle East and the Caribbean, where several countries face the imminent danger of Balkanisation. The United Nations cannot be held hostage by the unilateral actions of world powers that are themselves permanent members of its Security Council. Your Excellencies, I take this opportunity to express our appreciation for the work carried out by your diplomatic missions and the organisations you represent in strengthening cooperation and friendship between our respective countries and peoples. I wish to assure you of Angola’s full openness and readiness to work together to contribute to building a world of peace and harmony, where justice and mutual respect prevail. I wish you all a Happy and Prosperous New Year.