President João Lourenço Highlights Strategic Importance of the Lobito Corridor at High-Level Meeting

Your Excellencies Jean-Pierre Bemba Gombo and Situmbeko Musokotwane, Heads of Delegation of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the Republic of Zambia; Her Excellency Anna Bjerde, Managing Director of Operations of the World Bank, and her delegation; Your Excellencies, Members of the Governments of Angola, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Zambia; Distinguished Senior Officials of Multilateral Organisations; Distinguished Members of the Diplomatic Corps accredited to Angola; Distinguished Representatives of Development Partners; Ladies and Gentlemen, It is with great pleasure that we welcome you to Luanda so that, with the support of our development partners, we may continue advancing towards the realisation of our vision of regional integration and shared prosperity among our peoples. Our three countries have already met and worked together in different formats to establish the Lobito Corridor as a strategic priority and to align our respective visions on governance, investment and transit facilitation, including through the institutionalisation of the Lobito Corridor Transit Transport Facilitation Agency. This High-Level Meeting on the Lobito Corridor Coordination Mechanism therefore represents a further step towards consolidation, aimed at raising coordination to a more operational level by ensuring regulatory harmonisation and the alignment of facilitation processes, with clearly defined targets, responsibilities and regular monitoring. The Lobito Corridor has increasingly established itself as a vital link between Angola, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Zambia, with enormous potential to boost trade, production, logistics and economic transformation throughout our region. By connecting the Atlantic Ocean to inland production areas, this corridor can become a genuine platform for development and for advancing the African Continental Free Trade Area, contributing to regional economic integration and facilitating intra-African trade, with significant benefits for our economies and populations. The presence of senior government officials from the three countries that make up the corridor, together with multilateral and bilateral development partners, particularly the World Bank, demonstrates a shared understanding that the success of the Lobito Corridor depends, above all, on clear strategic alignment and effective coordination among all stakeholders. Development partners play a central role in this process. Their support has been crucial not only in mobilising catalytic investment, but also in supporting structural reforms and regulatory harmonisation — essential dimensions for strengthening the corridor’s credibility, reducing risks, attracting private capital and delivering tangible results. It is precisely within this context that the Lobito Corridor Coordination Mechanism has been established as a platform for coordination and strategic alignment. Its purpose is not to create new structures or additional bureaucracy, but rather to ensure that all initiatives promoted by multilateral institutions, bilateral partners and private investors are properly coordinated, avoiding duplication, fragmentation and parallel efforts that could diminish their collective impact. Complementarity among projects, financing and reforms is key to maximising results and accelerating implementation. It is important to emphasise that this is not merely about transport infrastructure. The Lobito Corridor must become a genuine engine of economic transformation. It must drive the development of agribusiness, promote industrial transformation, strengthen regional value chains and create sustainable economic opportunities and decent jobs, with particular attention to young people and women, ensuring that economic growth translates into tangible improvements in the quality of life of the populations living in the areas covered by the corridor. We consider it essential to ensure that the backbone of the Lobito Corridor — its railway, road and energy infrastructure — is fully rehabilitated and interconnected in order to guarantee efficiency and competitiveness. We therefore consider it relevant and strategic to implement the railway rehabilitation projects in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, as well as the railway and road connections to the Republic of Zambia and the interconnection of Angola’s power transmission network with the region, benefiting both local populations and productive activities in our two neighbouring countries. Without this effort, the establishment of an effective development corridor for our countries, integrated into the global economy, will become considerably more challenging. Angola has recorded positive and sustained economic growth in recent years, underpinned by continuous efforts towards macroeconomic stabilisation and economic diversification. At the same time, we have sought to create better conditions for strategic investment by strengthening the confidence and predictability required for long-term projects. Angola’s partnership with the World Bank, the African Development Bank, the European Union, the United States of America and other multilateral, bilateral and private-sector partners has been decisive in advancing this project. Their support contributes to strengthening institutional reforms, thereby building confidence and credibility among prospective investors. Within this framework, I would like to highlight a concrete example of the transition from vision to implementation: on December 17, 2025, a US$753 million financing package was signed for the Lobito Atlantic Railway (LAR), comprising US$553 million from the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) and US$200 million from the Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA), aimed at supporting the rehabilitation and modernisation of the railway line and associated logistics components of the Lobito Corridor. This step is significant because it confirms that the corridor is capable of mobilising structured, long-term financing. It also strengthens the credibility and bankability of the project, creating a demonstration effect for new investors. At the same time, it places greater collective responsibility upon us to ensure that signed financing translates into construction on the ground, that operations are efficient, reforms are implemented and results are measured. For this reason, it is essential that the goodwill surrounding the Lobito Corridor be translated into operational decisions and implementation instruments. We need to align priorities, define roadmaps, establish responsibilities and create monitoring mechanisms that guarantee real, measurable and lasting impact. Angola reaffirms its commitment to this vision of regional cooperation, to strengthening institutions and to maintaining a close and transparent partnership with all the development partners represented here. We are convinced that, by working in an aligned and coordinated manner, we will be able to transform the Lobito Corridor into a genuine catalyst for inclusive and sustainable development. Ladies and Gentlemen, The Lobito Corridor is more than an infrastructure project; it is a project of trust, integration and a shared future. Its true success will be measured not only by kilometres of railway or volumes of cargo transported, but by the impact it has on people’s lives: young people with jobs, families with income, communities with new opportunities and more resilient economies. It is this commitment to our people that must guide our decisions and accelerate our action. Angola reaffirms its commitment to cooperative leadership and responsible implementation, with transparency and a sense of urgency, so that the results become visible in the daily lives of our citizens. With these words, I declare open the High-Level Meeting on the Lobito Corridor Coordination Mechanism. Thank you very much for your attention.