A military cooperation agreement signed last week by Angola and the US will “allow closer logistical assistance between the armed forces” of the two countries.
Tressa Guenov, US principal deputy assistant secretary of defense for international security affairs, and Afonso Carlos Neto, Angolan secretary of state for material resources and infrastructure of the ministry of defence, signed the agreement at the first meeting of the US-Angola Joint Defense Committee in Washington DC.
The two countries will also pursue a closer security relationship, a point of discussion for the next meeting of the committee, scheduled for 2025 in Luanda.
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The two-day meeting was announced last week during a visit by Angola’s defence minister João Ernesto dos Santos to the Pentagon, where he met with his US counterpart, Lloyd Austin.
Ernesto dos Santos noted that the geopolitical area in which Angola is located requires special attention due to the deep historical, geographic, economic and cultural complexities of the communities it encompasses.
Angola’s pact with the US comes just weeks after fellow lusophone nation São Tomé and Príncipe signed an “indefinite” agreement with Moscow, covering troop training, recruitment of armed forces, use of weapons and military equipment, logistics, information exchange, and participation in military exercises.
