Angola and Oman have agreed to deepen bilateral cooperation and unlock new investment opportunities, as Sultan Haitham bin Tariq Al Said concluded a two‑day state visit to Luanda at the invitation of President João Lourenço.
The leaders held closed‑door talks at the presidential palace on September 18, focusing on ways to expand trade, attract Omani capital into priority Angolan sectors, and implement agreements signed during the visit, according to Oman News Agency.
During the meetings, President Lourenço said Angola was ready to welcome Omani investment across a wide range of sectors, including agriculture and livestock, mineral resources, oil and gas, fisheries, electricity, pharmaceuticals and defense.
Both sides underlined diplomacy, energy, mineral resources, finance, tourism, transport, logistics and housing as strategic areas for joint projects.
Omani and Angolan officials signed five agreements, eight memoranda of understanding and an executive program covering political and economic cooperation, visa exemptions for diplomatic and special passports, technical cooperation, double‑taxation avoidance, air transport, and heads of terms for logistics services and defense‑industry cooperation. The signed accords and MoUs were worth more than $1.5 billion and would create “lasting opportunities” for both peoples.
In November 2024, a subsidiary of Oman’s sovereign wealth fund replaced sanctioned Russian giant Alrosa in Angola’s state-run Catoca diamond mine. Angola had faced mounting pressure to cut ties with Alrosa, the world’s largest producer of rough diamonds by volume, since Western sanctions targeted the state-controlled Russian firm in 2022.
Luanda was the second stop on Sultan Haitham’s African tour, which began with a one‑day visit to Botswana. In Gaborone, Oman and Botswana signed nine agreements and MoUs on general cooperation, political consultations, visa exemptions for diplomatic passports, air services, investment promotion, pharmaceuticals, energy security and mining exploration.
The Sultan’s delegation included senior figures such as the foreign minister, the commerce and investment minister and the head of the Oman Investment Authority, signalling the economic weight Muscat is attaching to these partnerships. In Botswana, cooperation has already moved from paper to projects, including a 500 MW solar plant near Maun and plans for up to 3,000 MW of renewable capacity, as well as joint mineral exploration across large unexplored areas.
