{"id":80152,"date":"2017-03-29T10:34:23","date_gmt":"2017-03-29T10:34:23","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/?guid=f356a047640e20edefb2ede830649274"},"modified":"2017-03-29T10:34:23","modified_gmt":"2017-03-29T10:34:23","slug":"speech-minister-ellwoods-speech-at-uk-angola-trade-and-investment-forum","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/?p=80152","title":{"rendered":"Speech: Minister Ellwood&#8217;s speech at UK-Angola Trade and Investment Forum"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"govspeak\">\n<p>Speaking at the UK-Angola Trade and Investment Forum, Tobias Ellwood, Minister for Africa, said:<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen, good morning.<\/p>\n<p>It is a pleasure to be here today. As I looked down the delegate list and saw a company called the Tea Club, I knew that Angola was a country that could do business with the UK.<\/p>\n<p class=\"last-child\">There is a huge overlap between what Angola needs and what we have in this country that we want to share.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<h3 id=\"change-and-opportunity\">Change and Opportunity<\/h3>\n<blockquote>\n<p>Change is on the horizon for both our countries.<\/p>\n<p>This summer Angola is expected to experience its first change in leadership in almost 40 years.<\/p>\n<p>And tomorrow, the Prime Minister Theresa May will formally begin the process of withdrawing from the European Union.<\/p>\n<p>Change brings with it opportunities.<\/p>\n<p>Angola has the opportunity to set an example to the region by ensuring a peaceful and democratic political transition.<\/p>\n<p class=\"last-child\">Our departure from the European Union offers us the opportunity to become a truly Global Britain &#8211; strengthening our partnerships across the world, including with Angola.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<h3 id=\"strengthening-links-with-angola\">Strengthening Links with Angola<\/h3>\n<blockquote>\n<p>We made a first step towards that goal last year, when our two governments signed a Memorandum of Understanding to strengthen our political, economic and commercial relationship.<\/p>\n<p>We have plans in the pipeline for a number of further agreements in specific areas, like finance.<\/p>\n<p>Our commitment to growing our links with Angola is illustrated by the fact we have a dedicated Trade Envoy &#8211; Baroness Northover.<\/p>\n<p>Baroness, can I thank you for the work you\u2019re doing.<\/p>\n<p class=\"last-child\">You have paid four visits to Angola in the last 12 months alone, developing important relationships with Angola\u2019s economic ministries and identifying excellent opportunities for UK companies.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<h3 id=\"personal-impressions-of-angola\">Personal Impressions of Angola<\/h3>\n<blockquote>\n<p>For my part, I certainly saw some of those opportunities for myself when I visited Angola last month.<\/p>\n<p>There was encouraging evidence that the economy is beginning to strengthen and that the right investment conditions are beginning to be put in place.<\/p>\n<p>The government explained their plans to diversify the economy and improve the business environment.<\/p>\n<p>I heard how Angola was ready to embrace international partners \u2013 both Governments and businesses.<\/p>\n<p>And I was told there was a particular need for foreign expertise in the energy, agriculture and infrastructure sectors, all sectors where the UK is well-placed to offer support.<\/p>\n<p class=\"last-child\">We also have world leading expertise in financial services which can help a government spread the burden of new investment.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<h3 id=\"the-situation-in-angola\">The situation in Angola<\/h3>\n<blockquote>\n<p>For those unfamiliar with Angola, let me give you a few impressions.<\/p>\n<p>It is sub-Saharan Africa\u2019s third largest economy, worth \u00a385 billion. It is still heavily dependent on oil exports, and it suffered heavily because of the fall in oil prices.<\/p>\n<p>But it has great potential: it is politically stable, it has a favourable climate; huge non-mineral resources; vast areas of under-utilised arable land; and a young population of over 24 million people.<\/p>\n<p>And possibly most importantly, it has a government which has an economic vision that welcomes foreign investment.<\/p>\n<p>It wants to exploit both its traditional energy reserves and its huge potential in renewables, including hydro.<\/p>\n<p>By 2025 the electricity grid will double to provide for nearly two thirds of the population.<\/p>\n<p class=\"last-child\">The Angolan government is giving thought to how it builds its manufacturing base, and is taking steps to improve the business environment.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<h3 id=\"uk-government-trade-support\">UK Government trade support<\/h3>\n<blockquote>\n<p>For all these reasons, the UK Government is boosting our support for British companies seeking to invest in Angola.<\/p>\n<p>We have increased UK Export Finance limits for trade with Angola by 50%, from \u00a3500 million to \u00a3750 million.<\/p>\n<p class=\"last-child\">This additional quarter of a billion pounds will help UK companies win new export contracts, and will give Angolan buyers access to UK finance.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<h3 id=\"conclusion\">Conclusion<\/h3>\n<blockquote>\n<p>Ministers, Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen.<\/p>\n<p>Today is your chance to learn more about the opportunities on offer in Angola\u2019s dynamic market and how the Angolan Government intends to improve the climate for business there.<\/p>\n<p>It is a chance for Angolan interests to team up with UK expertise.<\/p>\n<p>Our Ambassador and his team \u2013 and our Trade Envoy -are on hand to give detailed advice about doing business in Angola.<\/p>\n<p>I very much look forward to working with you to strengthen the partnership between our two countries.<\/p>\n<p class=\"last-child\">This is an exciting time for both Britain and Angola.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<h3 id=\"further-information\">Further information<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>\n<p>Follow Foreign Office Minister Tobias Ellwood on Twitter <a rel=\"external\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Tobias_Ellwood\">@Tobias_Ellwood<\/a><\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p>Follow the Foreign Office on Twitter <a rel=\"external\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/foreignoffice\">@foreignoffice<\/a> and <a rel=\"external\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/foreignoffice?ref=hl\">Facebook<\/a><\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p>Follow the Foreign Office on <a rel=\"external\" href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/ukforeignoffice\/\">Instagram<\/a>, <a rel=\"external\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/user\/ukforeignoffice\">YouTube<\/a> and <a rel=\"external\" href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/foreign-and-commonwealth-office?trk=biz-companies-cym\">LinkedIn<\/a><\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<div class=\"contact \" id=\"contact_193\">\n<div class=\"content\">\n<h3>Media enquiries<\/h3>\n<div class=\"vcard contact-inner\">\n<div class=\"email-url-number\">\n<p class=\"email\">\n              <span class=\"type\">Email<\/span><br \/>\n              <a class=\"email\" href=\"mailto:newsdesk@fco.gov.uk\">newsdesk@fco.gov.uk<\/a>\n            <\/p>\n<p class=\"tel\">\n              <span class=\"type\">News Desk <\/span><br \/>\n              020 7008 3100\n            <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Minister for Africa highlights opportunities for UK businesses in Angola<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/80152"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=80152"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/80152\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=80152"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=80152"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=80152"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}