U.S. and Angola Hold Strategic Partnership

U.S. and Angola Hold Strategic Partnership Dialogue Meetings

Office of the Spokesman Washington, DC November 16, 2009

The United States and Angola launched meetings under a new Strategic Partnership Dialogue (SPD) framework on Monday, November 16 at the Department of State in Washington, DC.

During Secretary Clinton’s visit to Angola on August 9-10, 2009, she and Angolan Foreign Minister dos Anjos agreed to jointly create a new mechanism for bilateral cooperation between the United States and Angola. The resulting Strategic Partnership Dialogue will consist of regular bilateral working group meetings to discuss issues of mutual concern

The two working groups that met on November 16 were the first to be launched under the Strategic Partnership Dialogue. The first group, Security Cooperation, was chaired by Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary Donald Yamamoto from the Bureau of African Affairs for the U.S. and by Angolan Ambassador Josefina Pitra Diakite. Issues of mutual concern, including strategies to counter narcotics and human trafficking, were addressed during the initial meeting of the Security Cooperation working group. The second group addressed Energy Cooperation and was chaired by Coordinator for International Energy Affairs David Goldwyn for the U.S. and Angolan Vice Minister of Energy João Baptista Borges. The meeting included a dialogue with representatives from the private sector, a discussion on Angola’s renewable energy sector priorities, and a roundtable on the best practices used to incorporate wind mapping, solar power, biomass, and hydro-electric power into a renewable energy strategy.

On November 17, the Angolan Embassy and the Woodrow Wilson Center will host a “U.S.-Angola Day” conference at the Ronald Reagan International Trade Center to discuss a variety of issues including agriculture, energy, and infrastructure. Several US. officials will also speak at this conference, including Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs Johnnie Carson, Acting USAID Assistant Administrator Earl Gast, Coordinator for International Energy Affairs David Goldwyn, and other officials from the Department of Energy, the Department of Homeland Security, and USAID.

ENDS

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