Angola

 

 

Bureau of African Affairs                                                     
July 2007                                                                     
                                                                       
  Background Note: Angola                                                     
                                          
  A wholesaler makes a sale in Luanda,                                        
  Angola, September 29, 2006. [© AP                                           
  Images]                                                                     
                                                                       
  Flag of Angola is two equal horizontal bands of red (top) and black with a  
  centered yellow emblem consisting of a five-pointed star within half a      
  cogwheel crossed by a machete (in the style of a hammer and sickle).        
                                                                       
  PROFILE                                                                     
                                                                       
  OFFICIAL NAME:                                                              
  Republic of Angola                                                          
                                                                       
  Geography                                                                   
  Area: 1,246,700 sq. km. (481,400 sq. mi), about twice the size of Texas.    
  Cities: Capital--Luanda (pop. 4.0 million); Huambo (750,000); Benguela      
  (600,000).                                                                  
  Terrain: A narrow, dry coastal strip extending from the far north (Luanda) to
  Namibia in the south; well-watered agricultural highlands; savanna in the far
  east and south; and rain forest in the north and the enclave of Cabinda.    
  Climate: Tropical and tropical highland.                                    
                                                                       
  People                                                                      
  Nationality: Noun and adjective--Angolan(s).                                
  Population (December 2004 est.): 13,000,000.                                
  Annual population growth rate (2004): 2.9%.                                 
  Ethnic groups: Ovimbundu 37%, Kimbundu 25%, Bakongo 13%, mixed racial 2%,   
  European 1%.                                                                
  Religions (2001 official est.): Roman Catholic 68%, various Protestant 20%; 
  indigenous beliefs 12%.                                                     
  Languages: Portuguese (official), Ovimbundu, Kimbundu, Bakongo, and others. 
  Education: Years compulsory--8. Enrollment (2003 est.)--primary school 55%, 
  secondary 30%, and post-secondary 3%. Literacy (total population over 15 that
  can read and write, 2002 est.)--42% (male 56%, female 28%).                 
  Health: Life expectancy (2002 est.)--total population 46.7 years. Infant    
  mortality rate (2003 est.)--154/1,000.                                      
  Work force (2003 est. 5.6 million): Agriculture--85%; industry and          
  commerce--15%; services--6%.                                                
                                                                       
  Government                                                                  
  Type: Republic.                                                             
  Independence: November 11, 1975.                                            
  Branches: Executive--elected president (chief of state), appointed prime    
  minister, and 31 appointed civilian ministers and 55 vice ministers.        
  Legislative--elected National Assembly (223 seats). Judicial--Supreme Court 
  (also functions as Constitutional Court).                                   
  Administrative subdivisions: Province, municipality, commune.               
  Political parties: 123 with legal status; in 1992, 12 won seats in the      
  National Assembly. Pro-government--Popular Movement for the Liberation of   
  Angola (MPLA). Opposition--National Union for the Total Independence of     
  Angola (UNITA), Social Renewal Party (PRS), National Front for the Liberation
  of Angola (FNLA), Party for Democratic Progress - Angola National Alliance  
  (PDP-ANA), Democratic Renewal Party (PRD), Party of the Alliance of Youth,  
  Workers, and Peasants (PAJOCA), Liberal Democratic Party (PLD), Democratic  
  Alliance (AD), Angolan Democratic Forum (FDA), Social Democratic Party (PSD),
  Front for Democracy (FPD), and the Angolan National Democratic Party (PNDA).
  Suffrage: Universal age 18 and over.                                        
                                                                       
  Economy                                                                     
  GDP (2006 est. using purchasing power parity): $53.9 billion.               
  Annual real GDP growth rate (2006 est.): 15.3%.                             
  Per capita GDP (2006 est. using purchasing power parity): $3,399.           
  Avg. inflation rate (2006): 13.3%.                                          
  Natural resources: Petroleum, diamonds, iron ore, phosphates, bauxite,      
  uranium, gold, granite, copper, feldspar.                                   
  Agriculture: Products--bananas, sugarcane, coffee, sisal, corn, cotton,     
  manioc, tobacco, vegetables, plantains; livestock; forest products; fisheries
  products.                                                                   
  Industry: Types--petroleum drilling and refining, mining, cement, basic metal
  products, fish processing, food processing, brewing, tobacco products, sugar
  refining, textiles.                                                         
  Trade: Exports (2006 projected)--$30.3 billion. 2006 projected exports      
  consisted of petroleum and derivatives (95.04%), diamonds (4.6%), coffee    
  (0.03%), other (0.3%), sisal, timber, cotton, fish, scrap metal. Major      
  markets (2004)--U.S. (37.70%), China (35.6%), France (6.4%), South Korea    
  (2.95%). Imports (2006 est.)--$9 billion: machinery, electrical equipment,  
  vehicles and spare parts, medicines, food, textiles. Major sources (2006)   
  --Portugal (17.1%), U.S. (9.8%), South Africa (8.0%), China (8.5%), Brazil  
  (8.6%).                                                                     
                                                                       
  GEOGRAPHY                                                                   
  Angola is located on the South Atlantic Coast of West Africa between Namibia
  and the Republic of the Congo. It also is bordered by the Democratic Republic
  of the Congo to the north and east and Zambia to the east. The country is   
  divided into an arid coastal strip stretching from Namibia to Luanda; a wet,
  interior highland; a dry savanna in the interior south and southeast; and   
  rain forest in the north and in Cabinda. The upper reaches of the Zambezi   
  River pass through Angola, and several tributaries of the Congo River have  
  their sources in Angola. The coastal strip is tempered by the cool Benguela 
  current, resulting in a climate similar to coastal Baja California. There is
  a short rainy season lasting from February to April. Summers are hot and dry,
  while winters are mild. The interior highlands have a mild climate with a   
  rainy season from November through April followed by a cool dry season from 
  May to October when overnight temperatures can fall to freezing. Elevations 
  generally range from 3,000 to 6,000 feet. The far north and Cabinda enjoy   
  rain throughout much of the year.                                           
                                                                       
  PEOPLE                                                                      
  Estimates of Angola's population vary widely, as there has been no census   
  since 1970, but it is estimated at no less than 13 million. Angola has three
  main ethnic groups, each speaking a Bantu language: Ovimbundu 37%, Kimbundu 
  25%, and Bakongo 13%. Other groups include Chokwe, Lunda, Ganguela,         
  Nhaneca-Humbe, Ambo, Herero, and Xindunga. In addition, mixed racial        
  (European and African) people amount to about 2%, with a small (1%)         
  population of whites, mainly ethnically Portuguese. Portuguese make up the  
  largest non-Angolan population, with at least 30,000 (though many native-born
  Angolans can claim Portuguese nationality under Portuguese law). Portuguese 
  is both the official and predominant language.                              
                                                                       
  HISTORY                                                                     
  In 1482, when the Portuguese first landed in what is now northern Angola,   
  they encountered the Kingdom of the Congo, which stretched from modern Gabon
  in the north to the Kwanza River in the south. Mbanza Congo, the capital, had
  a population of 50,000 people. South of this kingdom were various important 
  states, of which the Kingdom of Ndongo, ruled by the ngola (king), was most 
  significant. Modern Angola derives its name from the king of Ndongo. The    
  Portuguese gradually took control of the coastal strip throughout the 16th  
  century by a series of treaties and wars. The Dutch occupied Luanda from    
  1641-48, providing a boost for anti-Portuguese states. In 1648,             
  Brazilian-based Portuguese forces re-took Luanda and initiated a process of 
  military conquest of the Congo and Ndongo states that ended with Portuguese 
  victory in 1671. Full Portuguese administrative control of the interior did 
  not occur until the beginning of the 20th century.                          
                                                                       
  Portugal's primary interest in Angola quickly turned to slavery. The slaving
  system began early in the 16th century with the purchase from African chiefs
  of people to work on sugar plantations in São Tomé, Principé, and Brazil.   
  Many scholars agree that by the 19th century, Angola was the largest source 
  of slaves not only for Brazil, but also for the Americas, including the     
  United States. By the end of the 19th century, a massive forced labor system
  had replaced formal slavery and would continue until outlawed in 1961. It was
  this forced labor that provided the basis for development of a plantation   
  economy and, by the mid-20th century, a major mining sector. Forced labor   
  combined with British financing to construct three railroads from the coast 
  to the interior, the most important of which was the transcontinental       
  Benguela railroad that linked the port of Lobito with the copper zones of the
  Belgian Congo and what is now Zambia, through which it connects to Dar Es   
  Salaam, Tanzania.                                                           
                                                                       
  Colonial economic development did not translate into social development for 
  native Angolans. The Portuguese regime encouraged white immigration,        
  especially after 1950, which intensified racial antagonisms. As             
  decolonization progressed elsewhere in Africa, Portugal, under the Salazar  
  and Caetano dictatorships, rejected independence and treated its African    
  colonies as overseas provinces. Consequently, three independence movements  
  emerged: the Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA) led by    
  Agostinho Neto, with a base among Kimbundu and the mixed-race intelligentsia
  of Luanda, and links to communist parties in Portugal and the East Bloc; the
  National Front for the Liberation of Angola (FNLA), led by Holden Roberto   
  with an ethnic base in the Bakongo region of the north and links to the     
  United States and the Mobutu regime in Kinshasa; and the National Union for 
  the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA), led by Jonas Malheiro Savimbi with
  an ethnic and regional base in the Ovimbundu heartland in the center of the 
  country and links to the People's Republic of China and apartheid South     
  Africa.                                                                     
                                                                       
  From the early 1960s, elements of these movements fought against the        
  Portuguese. A 1974 coup d'etat in Portugal established a military government
  that promptly ceased the war and agreed, in the Alvor Accords, to hand over 
  power to a coalition of the three movements. The ideological differences    
  between the three movements eventually led to armed conflict, with FNLA and 
  UNITA forces, encouraged by their respective international supporters,      
  attempting to wrest control of Luanda from the MPLA. The intervention of    
  troops from South Africa on behalf of UNITA and Zaire on behalf of the FNLA 
  in September and October 1975 and the MPLA's importation of Cuban troops in 
  November effectively internationalized the conflict. Retaining control of   
  Luanda, the coastal strip, and increasingly lucrative oil fields in Cabinda,
  the MPLA declared independence on November 11, 1975, the day the Portuguese 
  abandoned the capital. UNITA and the FNLA formed a rival coalition government
  based in the interior city of Huambo. Agostinho Neto became the first       
  president of the MPLA government that was recognized by the United Nations in
  1976. Upon Neto's death from cancer in 1979, then-Planning Minister José    
  Eduardo dos Santos ascended to the presidency.                              
                                                                       
  The FNLA's military failures led to its increasing marginalization, internal
  divisions, and abandonment by international supporters. An internationalized
  conventional civil war between UNITA and the MPLA continued until 1989. For 
  much of this time, UNITA controlled vast swaths of the interior and was     
  backed by U.S. resources and South African troops. Similarly, tens of       
  thousands of Cuban troops remained in support of the MPLA, often fighting   
  South Africans on the front lines. A U.S.-brokered agreement resulted in    
  withdrawal of foreign troops in 1989 and led to the Bicesse Accord in 1991, 
  which spelled out an electoral process for a democratic Angola under the    
  supervision of the United Nations. When UNITA's Jonas Savimbi failed to win 
  the first round of the presidential election in 1992 (he won 40% to dos     
  Santos's 49%, which meant a runoff), he called the election fraudulent and  
  returned to war. Another peace accord, known as the Lusaka Protocol, was    
  brokered in Lusaka, Zambia, and signed in 1994. This agreement, too,        
  collapsed into renewed conflict. The UN Security Council voted on August 28,
  1997 to impose sanctions on UNITA. The Angolan military launched a massive  
  offensive in 1999, which destroyed UNITA's conventional capacity and        
  recaptured all major cities previously held by Savimbi's forces. Savimbi then
  declared a return to guerrilla tactics, which continued until his death in  
  combat in February 2002.                                                    
                                                                       
  On April 4, 2002, the Angolan Government and UNITA signed the Luena         
  Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), which formalized the de facto cease-fire 
  that prevailed following Savimbi's death. In accordance with the MOU, UNITA 
  recommitted to the peace framework in the 1994 Lusaka Protocol, returned all
  remaining territory to Angolan Government control, quartered all military   
  personnel in predetermined locations, and relinquished all arms. In August  
  2002, UNITA demobilized all military personnel and in September 2002,       
  together with the government, reconstituted the UN-sponsored Joint Commission
  to resolve all outstanding political issues under the Lusaka Protocol. On   
  November 21, 2002, UNITA and the government declared all outstanding issues 
  resolved and the Lusaka Protocol fully implemented. UN Security Council     
  sanctions on UNITA were lifted on December 9, 2002. UNITA and the MPLA held 
  their first post-war party congresses in June and December 2003,            
  respectively. The UNITA Congress saw the democratic transfer of power from  
  interim leader General Paulo Lukumba "Gato" to former UNITA representative in
  Paris Isaias Henriqué Samakuva, while the MPLA Congress reaffirmed President
  dos Santos' leadership of party structures. Samakuva's first 4-year term as 
  UNITA party president will end in 2007, and UNITA will hold a party congress
  in July 2007 to decide UNITA's leader for the next 4 years.                 
                                                                       
  The signing of the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) for Peace and          
  Reconciliation in Cabinda on August 1, 2006, is seen as a step toward ending
  conflict in Cabinda and in bringing about greater representation for the    
  people of Cabinda. It follows a successful counterinsurgency campaign by the
  Angolan Armed Forces (FAA), who still maintain a strong troop presence there.
  The MOU rejects the notion of Cabindan independence, calls for the          
  demobilization and reintegration of former Front for the Liberation of the  
  Enclave of Cabinda (FLEC) fighters into various governmental positions, and 
  creates a special political and economic status for the province of Cabinda.
  Many FLEC military combatants have now been integrated into the Angolan Armed
  Forces, with a significant number serving in command positions. In addition,
  Cabindans will be given designated numbers of vice ministerial and other    
  positions in the Angolan Government. Some FLEC members, who did not sign onto
  the peace memorandum, continue their independence efforts through public    
  outreach and infrequent low-level attacks against FAA convoys and outposts. 
                                                                       
  GOVERNMENT AND POLITICAL CONDITIONS                                         
  Angola changed from a one-party Marxist-Leninist system ruled by the MPLA to
  a nominal multiparty democracy following the 1992 elections, in which       
  President dos Santos won the first-round election with more than 49% of the 
  vote to Jonas Savimbi's 40%; a runoff never took place. The Constitutional  
  Law of 1992 establishes the broad outlines of government structure and      
  delineates the rights and duties of citizens. The government is based on    
  ordinances, decrees, and decisions issued by a president and his ministers or
  through legislation produced by the National Assembly and approved by the   
  president. The parliament is generally subordinate to the executive.        
                                                                       
  Few opportunities exist for opposition parties to challenge MPLA dominance. 
  President dos Santos, following a recommendation of the Council of the      
  Republic, has said legislative elections will now occur in 2008, with       
  presidential elections to follow in 2009. A multi-party constitutional reform
  process will resume following elections.                                    
                                                                       
  Angola is governed by a president who is assisted by a prime minister and 30
  cabinet ministers, all appointed by the president. Political power is       
  concentrated in the presidency. The executive branch of the government is   
  composed of the president (head of state and government), the prime minister,
  and the Council of Ministers. The Council of Ministers, composed of all     
  government ministers and vice ministers, meets regularly to discuss policy  
  issues. The president, the Council of Ministers, and individual ministers in
  their areas of competence have the ability to legislate by decree.          
                                                                       
  Of the 220 deputies in the National Assembly, 130 are elected at large, and 5
  are elected to represent each of the 18 provinces. The Electoral Law also   
  calls for the election of three additional deputies to represent citizens   
  living abroad; however, those positions were not filled in the 1992         
  elections. The ruling MPLA controls 59% of the seats.                       
                                                                       
  The central government administers the country through 18 provinces.        
  Governors of the provinces are appointed by and serve at the pleasure of the
  president.                                                                  
                                                                       
  The legal system is based on Portuguese and customary law but is weak and   
  fragmented. Courts operate in only a fraction of the 164 municipalities. A  
  Supreme Court serves as the appellate tribunal; a Constitutional Court with 
  powers of judicial review has never been constituted despite statutory      
  authorization. Recently, the Supreme Court has acted as a Constitutional    
  Court.                                                                      
                                                                       
  The 27-year-long civil war ravaged the country's political and social       
  institutions. The government estimates that 4.7 million people were         
  internally displaced by the civil war. 'In March 2007, the UN High          
  Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and Angola jointly celebrated the end of a
  5-year organized voluntary repatriation program that returned home more than
  400,000 Angolan refugees. The Angolan Government estimates as many as 100,000
  refugees remain outside Angola and is working to help those who wish to     
  return. Daily conditions of life throughout the country mirror the inadequate
  administrative infrastructure as well as weak social institutions. Government
  support for social institutions is often inadequate. Many hospitals are     
  without medicines or basic equipment, schools are without books, and public 
  employees often lack the basic supplies for their day-to-day work.          
                                                                       
  Principal Government Officials                                              
  President--Jose Eduardo dos Santos                                          
  Prime Minister--Fernando da Piedade Dias dos Santos "Nando"                 
  Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs--Aguinaldo Jaime                 
  Minister of External Affairs--João Bernardo de Miranda                      
  Minister of the Interior--Roberto Leal Monteiro Ngongo                      
  Minister of Finance--José Pedro de Morais                                   
  Minister of Defense--Kundi Paihama                                          
  Minister of Petroleum--Desidério da Graça Veríssimo da Costa                
  Minister of Planning--Ana Dias Lourenço                                     
  Ambassador to the United States--Josefina Perpetua Pitra Diakite            
  Permanent Representative to the United Nations--Ismael Gaspar Martins       
                                                                       
  Angola maintains an embassy in the United States at 2100-2108 16th St., NW, 
  Washington, DC 20009 (tel. 202-785-1156; fax 202-822-9049; web:             
  www.angola.org). Angola also maintains consulates in New York City (attached
  to its Permanent Mission to the United Nations) at 866 UN Plaza, 48th St.,  
  Suite 552, New York, NY 10017 (tel. 212-233-3588, ext. 15; fax 212-980-9606;
  web: http://www2.un.int/public/Angola/ ) and in Houston at 3040 Post Oak    
  Blvd., Suite 708, Houston, TX 77056 (tel. 713-212-3840; fax 713-212-3841).  
                                                                       
  ECONOMY                                                                     
  Angola has a fast-growing economy largely due to a major oil boom, but it   
  also ranks in the bottom 10% of most socioeconomic indicators. Aside from the
  oil sector and diamonds, it is recovering from 27 years of nearly continuous
  warfare, corruption, and economic mismanagement. Despite abundant natural   
  resources, and rising per capita GDP, Angola was ranked 161 out of 177      
  countries on the 2006 UN Development Program's (UNDP) Human Development     
  Index. Subsistence agriculture sustains one-third of the population.        
                                                                       
  By contrast, the rapidly expanding petroleum industry--now producing        
  approximately 1.6 million barrels per day (bpd), behind only Nigeria in     
  Africa--accounts for 51.7% of GNP, 95% of exports, and 80% of government    
  revenues. Production is expected to reach 2 million barrels per day in 2008.
  Oil production remains largely offshore and has few linkages with other     
  sectors of the economy, though a local content initiative promulgated by the
  Angolan Government is pressuring oil companies to source from local         
  businesses.                                                                 
                                                                       
  Block 15, located offshore of the enclave of Soyo, currently provides 40% of
  Angola's crude oil production. ExxonMobil, through its subsidiary Esso, is  
  the operator with a 40% share. In 2005, Block 15's second major sub-field,  
  Kizomba B, came online producing at about 250,000 bpd. BP, ENI-Agip, and    
  Statoil are partners in the concession. Chevron operates Block 0, also in   
  offshore Cabinda, which provides one-quarter of Angola's crude oil          
  production. Its partners in Block 0 are Sonangol (the Angolan state oil     
  company), TotalFinaElf, and ENI-Agip. Chevron also operates Angola's first  
  producing deepwater section, Block 14, which started pumping in January 2000
  at the rate of about 61,000 bpd.                                            
                                                                       
  TotalFinaElf brought the first Kwanza Basin deepwater blocks on-line with   
  production from its Block 17 concession that began in February 2002 and now 
  produces approximately 430,000 bpd, with its new Dahlia field expected to   
  bring the production total to close to 500,000 bpd. Both ExxonMobil and     
  TotalFinaElf made new discoveries in these blocks in 2005. Exploration is   
  ongoing in ultra-deep water concessions and in deepwater and shallow        
  concessions in the Namibe Basin. BP made the first significant              
  ultra-deepwater find in its Block 31 concession in 2002 and had reached nine
  significant discoveries by the end of 2005. Marathon also drilled a         
  successful well in its Block 32 ultra-deep water concession. BP, which      
  currently does not produce oil in Angola as an operator, expects to have    
  production of 600,000 bpd by 2007. TotalFinaElf operates Angola's one       
  refinery (in Luanda) as a joint venture with Sonangol; plans for a second   
  refinery in Lobito with projected production of 200,000 bpd are moving      
  forward. There are plans to increase capacity of the Luanda refinery from   
  40,000 bpd to 100,000 bpd. Chevron, Sonangol, and other partners are        
  developing a $4-5 billion liquefied natural gas plant at Soyo.              
                                                                       
  Exports to Asian countries have grown rapidly in recent years, particularly 
  China. In late 2004, China's state oil company Sinopec bought into Block 18,
  securing the deal by offering a $2 billion credit line to the Angolan       
  Government. Sinopec has also formed a partnership with Sonangol to operate  
  Block 3/05 (formerly Block 3/80), whose operation was transferred from Total
  to Sonangol recently. Sonangol will seek to expand its operation of onshore 
  and shallow water blocks. This includes the northern block of Cabinda's     
  onshore concessions, which since the reduction in hostilities with separatist
  forces is now open to exploration. Sonangol and Sinopec will also be eyeing 
  future concession rounds, particularly for 23 blocks in the Kwanza Basin    
  onshore area and the relinquished parts of Blocks 15, 17, and 18, currently 
  operated by Exxon, Total, and BP.                                           
                                                                       
  Diamonds make up most of Angola's remaining exports, with yearly production 
  at 6 million carats. Diamond sales reached approximately $1 billion in 2005.
  Despite increased corporate ownership of diamond fields, much production is 
  currently in the hands of small-scale prospectors, often operating illegally.
  Only eight formal sector mines are operating out of a total of 145          
  concessions. In June 2005, De Beers signed a $10 million prospecting contract
  with the government's diamond parastatal, ending a 4-year investment dispute
  between De Beers and the government. The government is making an increased  
  effort to register and license prospectors. Legal sales of rough diamonds may
  occur only through the government's diamond-buying parastatal, although many
  producers continue to bypass the system to obtain higher prices. The        
  government has established an export certification scheme consistent with the
  "Kimberley Process" to identify legitimate production and sales. Other      
  mineral resources, including gold, remain largely undeveloped, though granite
  and marble quarrying have begun.                                            
                                                                       
  In the last decade of the colonial period, Angola was a major African       
  agricultural exporter. Because of severe wartime conditions, including      
  extensive laying of landmines throughout the countryside, agricultural      
  activities were brought to a near standstill, and the country now imports   
  about half of its food. Small-scale agricultural production has increased   
  dramatically over the last 3 years as internally displaced persons (IDPs) are
  returning to the land. Some efforts at commercial agricultural recovery have
  gone forward, notably in fisheries and tropical fruits, but most of the     
  country's vast potential remains untapped. Coffee production, though a      
  fraction of its pre-1975 level, is sufficient for domestic needs and some   
  exports. Recently passed land reform laws will attempt to reconcile         
  overlapping traditional land use rights, colonial-era land claims, and recent
  land grants to facilitate significant commercial agricultural development.  
                                                                       
  An economic reform effort launched in 1998 was only marginally successful in
  addressing persistent fiscal mismanagement and corruption. In April 2000,   
  Angola started an International Monetary Fund (IMF) staff-monitored program 
  (SMP). The program lapsed in June 2001 over IMF concerns about lack of      
  adequate Angolan progress. Under the program, the Government of Angola did  
  succeed in unifying exchange rates and moving fuel, electricity, and water  
  prices closer to market rates.                                              
                                                                       
  In December 2002 President dos Santos named a new economic team to oversee  
  homegrown reform efforts. The new team succeeded in decreasing overall      
  government spending, rationalizing the Kwanza exchange rate, closing        
  regulatory loopholes allowing off-budget expenditures, and capturing all    
  revenues in the state budget. New procedures were implemented to track the  
  flow of funds between the Treasury, Banco Nacional de Angola (the central   
  bank), and the state-owned Banco de Poupanca e Credito, which operates the  
  budget. The Angolan Government adopted a new investment code. Concerns remain
  about quasi-fiscal operations by the state oil company Sonangol, continued  
  oil-backed commercial borrowing by the Angolan Government, and inadequate   
  transparency and oversight in the management of public accounts. The Angolan
  commercial code, financial sector law, and telecommunications law all require
  substantial revision.                                                       
                                                                       
  In its published July 2003 Article IV report, the IMF endorsed four         
  prerequisites to proceeding with formal negotiations: (1) disclosure of     
  foreign debt data; (2) timely provision of macroeconomic statistics; (3) full
  implementation of the single government account at the Central Bank, and (4)
  additional dialogue on oil revenue management. A December 2003 IMF staff    
  mission to Angola found some progress in these areas. In February 2004, the 
  Angolan Government and the IMF reached agreement on the steps necessary to  
  conclude SMP negotiations. However, the Angolan Government ended dialogue   
  with the IMF in February 2007.                                              
                                                                       
  Angola is the second-largest trading partner of the United States in        
  sub-Saharan Africa, largely because of its petroleum exports. U.S. exports to
  Angola primarily consist of industrial goods and services--such as oilfield 
  equipment, mining equipment, chemicals, aircraft, and food. On December 30, 
  2003, President Bush approved the designation of Angola as eligible for     
  tariff preferences under the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA).     
                                                                       
  DEFENSE                                                                     
  The Angolan Armed Forces, known by its Portuguese acronym FAA, are headed by
  a chief of staff who reports to the civilian minister of defense. There are 
  three services--the army, navy, and air force. Total manpower is about      
  140,000. The army is by far the largest of the services with about 130,000  
  personnel. The navy numbers about 3,000 and operates several small patrol   
  craft and barges. Air force personnel total about 7,000; its equipment      
  includes Russian-manufactured fighters and transport planes, Bell           
  helicopters, and Italian trainers. The "Casa Militar," or presidential guard,
  answers directly to the Office of the President and is separate from FAA    
  command and control structures.                                             
                                                                       
  FOREIGN RELATIONS                                                           
  From 1975 to 1989, Angola was aligned with the Soviet Union and Cuba. Since 
  then, it has focused on improving relationships with Western countries,     
  cultivating links with other Portuguese-speaking countries, and asserting its
  own national interests in Central Africa through military and diplomatic    
  intervention. In 1993, it established formal diplomatic relations with the  
  United States. It has entered the Southern African Development Community as a
  vehicle for improving ties with its largely anglophone neighbors to the     
  south. In 1997, Zimbabwe and Namibia joined Angola in its military          
  intervention in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, where Angolan troops  
  fought in support of the Laurent and Joseph Kabila governments. It also has 
  intervened in the Republic of the Congo (Brazzaville) in support of President
  Sassou-Nguesso. Angola has also engaged in a more robust economic           
  relationship with the People's Republic of China. The P.R.C. has extended a 
  U.S. $2 billion credit line to Angola.                                      
                                                                       
  Multilaterally, Angola has promoted the revival of the Community of         
  Portuguese-Speaking Countries (CPLP) as a forum for cultural exchange and a 
  means of expanding ties with Portugal and Brazil. During the peace process, 
  the government fully cooperated with the UN Mission in Angola (UNMA), which 
  concluded its mandate in mid-February 2003. Angola concluded a 2-year term on
  the UN Security Council in December 2004. In June 2007, it began a 3-year   
  term on the Human Rights Council.                                           
                                                                       
  U.S.-ANGOLAN RELATIONS                                                      
  The United States established formal diplomatic relations with the Government
  of Angola in 1993. Before 1989, U.S.-Angolan relations were defined by the  
  Cold War. The United States initially supported Holden Roberto's FNLA and   
  later Jonas Savimbi's UNITA against the pro-Soviet and pro-Cuban MPLA       
  government in Luanda. Since 1992, the bilateral relationship has steadily   
  improved. In May 2004, President dos Santos met with President Bush during an
  official visit to Washington.                                               
                                                                       
  The U.S. Mission in Angola consists of four agencies--the Department of     
  State, the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), the Department
  of Defense, and the Department of Health and Human Services' Centers for    
  Disease Control and Prevention (HHS/CDC). In addition, a variety of federal 
  agencies maintain relationships with the Angolan Government through ongoing 
  projects, including the Federal Aviation Administration, the Department of  
  Transportation, the Department of Commerce, and the Department of Energy. In
  FY 2005, U.S. Government assistance amounted to roughly $62.8 million.      
                                                                       
  'In FY 2006, USAID's Food for Peace office provided $3.5 million in food    
  inputs that were made available to the World Food Program for nutrition     
  support to populations in the most food insecure and vulnerable provinces,  
  and for returning refugees. This level of support continued a phased        
  reduction, which as recently as FY 2005 amounted to $30.7 million, consistent
  with Angola's rapidly improving ability to produce its own food through     
  improved access to land and markets as well as the settlement of formerly   
  displaced people. Food for Peace assistance will be discontinued in FY 2007.
                                                                       
  USAID's development program in Angola in FY 2007 is consistent with the     
  'country's status as a developing country at a pivotal juncture in its      
  development and reconstruction. In FY 2006, the program budget was $25.5    
  million and focused on: civil society strengthening, improved governance, and
  democratization; market-oriented economic analysis and economic reform      
  policy; agricultural sector productivity; maternal and child health; HIV/AIDS
  prevention, education and voluntary counseling'; and workforce development. 
  Angola also launched a major program to fight malaria through the President's
  Malaria Initiative (PMI). The Governing Justly and Democratically objective 
  strengthens constituencies and institutions required for democratic         
  governance by strengthening civil society organizations and promoting local 
  government decentralization; fostering an independent media, government     
  transparency, accountability, and capability, and improved dialogue between 
  citizens and government; and laying the groundwork for free and fair        
  elections. The Investing in People objective aims to improve maternal and   
  child health and prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS and other infectious diseases
  by helping communities and institutions to provide necessary health services
  and to conduct HIV/AIDS prevention programs. The PMI is the largest health  
  program and expands efforts to scale up proven preventive and treatment     
  interventions toward achievement of 85% coverage among vulnerable groups and
  50% reduction in morbidity due to malaria. The Economic Growth objective    
  fosters economic policy and financial sector reform; credit access for      
  micro-, small-, and medium-sized enterprises; and expanded trade and        
  investment.                                                                 
                                                                       
  Emergency support from HHS/CDC was provided to address the 2005 Marburg virus
  outbreak in northern Angola, with assistance from the USAID Mission. CDC    
  personnel joined with the World Health Organization (WHO) as part of the    
  international response to assist with epidemiologic investigation, infection
  control, and laboratory diagnosis. CDC personnel in Atlanta provided        
  laboratory and scientific support to Angola's Ministry of Health and to     
  countries bordering Angola, establishing a field laboratory in Luanda, Angola
  to provide prompt laboratory confirmation of suspect Marburg cases in Angola
  and neighboring countries. Additional HIV/AIDS funding for the country of   
  just over $2 million from HHS/CDC is also available, and helped expand      
  surveillance, information systems, laboratory, and blood bank quality       
  control.                                                                    
                                                                       
  On February 19, 2006, the Provincial Government of Luanda declared a cholera
  outbreak, in coordination with the WHO. What began as a localized outbreak of
  cholera in Luanda rapidly spread around Angola, with cases detected in seven
  provinces and mortality rates as high as 15% in certain areas. Causes of this
  rapid expansion included poor sanitation and a lack of potable water (70% of
  the country was without access), which were compounded by a series of heavy 
  rains in March 2006 and April 2006. Limited stocks of available medical     
  supplies were rapidly depleted, and the UN stressed the need for immediate, 
  widespread assistance. The U.S. Ambassador determined April 19, 2006 that an
  adequate response was beyond the capacity of the Angolan Government, and    
  through this disaster declaration requested U.S. Government assistance to   
  support the international response and contain the spread of the outbreak.  
  USAID's response was to provide $50,000 for immediate relief needs. As of   
  January 23, 2007, a total number of 70,396 cumulative cases and 2,799 deaths
  were reported in 16 out of the 18 provinces, since the beginning of the     
  outbreak. Following torrential rains in January 2007, the Chief of Mission, 
  in response to an emergency declared by the Government of Angola, determined
  that U.S. Government assistance was needed to support the government and    
  efforts of international agencies to mitigate the effects of flooding in the
  capital, Luanda. As a result, USAID's Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance 
  released $70,000 to provide emergency relief for families displaced by the  
  floods.                                                                     
                                                                       
  To assist with economic reform, in FY 2007 the State Department provided $2.2
  million to work on land tenure, economic policy, and the financial sector. An
  additional $143,000 in grants was provided to community development projects
  and non-governmental organization (NGO)-sponsored democracy and human rights
  projects. $152,000 in International Military Education and Training (IMET)  
  funds was provided for English language training to the Angolan Armed Forces.
  Professional training for law enforcement personnel at the International Law
  Enforcement Academy (ILEA) in Gaborone, Botswana continued. The Safe Skies  
  for Africa program provided around $800,000 in equipment and training to the
  Angolan civil aviation authority. As part of its public diplomacy program,  
  the Embassy provided nearly $434,000 in English language training,          
  educational exchanges and fellowships, and information resource services. The
  State Department provided $6 million for ongoing demining projects throughout
  the country. These projects have played a major role in opening critical road
  networks and increasing access in those areas of the country most impacted by
  landmines.                                                                  
                                                                       
  At the same time, the energy-based U.S. trading relationship continues to   
  expand and spark other ties. One offshoot has been the development of a     
  Sister City relationship between Lafayette, Louisiana and Cabinda and between
  Houston, Texas and Luanda. The Catholic University of Luanda has close links
  with a number of American institutions and has received support from the    
  Angola Educational Assistance Fund, a U.S. non-profit organization organized
  by Citizens Energy of Boston. Sonangol has a longstanding program of        
  educating its professionals in U.S. universities, complementing Chevron's   
  policy of U.S. training for its own growing pool of Angolan professionals.  
  Long before oil was discovered, American missionary efforts from the early  
  19th century established several Protestant churches in the interior, which 
  also provided much of the schooling that was available in rural colonial    
  Angola; those historical links now are being revived with exchanges in both 
  directions.                                                                 
                                                                       
  Principal U.S. Officials                                                    
  Ambassador--Cynthia G. Efird                                                
  Deputy Chief of Mission--Francisco Fernandez                                
  USAID Director-Susam Brems (arrival July 2007)                              
  Defense Attaché--LTC. Chris Grieg                                           
                                                                       
  The U.S. Embassy is located at Rua Houari Boumedienne No. 32, Miramar,      
  Luanda, Angola. International mail: Caixa Postal 6484, Luanda, Angola; Pouch:
  Department of State, 2550 Luanda Place, Washington, DC 20521-2550; telephone:
  (244) (222) 64-1000; fax: (244) (222) 64-1232.                              
                                                                       
  TRAVEL AND BUSINESS INFORMATION                                             
  The U.S. Department of State's Consular Information Program advises Americans
  traveling and residing abroad through Consular Information Sheets, Public   
  Announcements, and Travel Warnings. Consular Information Sheets exist for all
  countries and include information on entry and exit requirements, currency  
  regulations, health conditions, safety and security, crime, political       
  disturbances, and the addresses of the U.S. embassies and consulates abroad.
  Public Announcements are issued to disseminate information quickly about    
  terrorist threats and other relatively short-term conditions overseas that  
  pose significant risks to the security of American travelers. Travel Warnings
  are issued when the State Department recommends that Americans avoid travel 
  to a certain country because the situation is dangerous or unstable.        
                                                                       
  For the latest security information, Americans living and traveling abroad  
  should regularly monitor the Department's Bureau of Consular Affairs Internet
  web site at http://www.travel.state.gov, where the current Worldwide Caution,
  Public Announcements, and Travel Warnings can be found. Consular Affairs    
  Publications, which contain information on obtaining passports and planning a
  safe trip abroad, are also available at http://www.travel.state.gov. For    
  additional information on international travel, see http://www.usa.gov/     
  Citizen/Topics/Travel/International.shtml.                                  
                                                                       
  The Department of State encourages all U.S citizens who traveling or residing
  abroad to register via the State Department's travel registration website or
  at the nearest U.S. embassy or consulate abroad. Registration will make your
  presence and whereabouts known in case it is necessary to contact you in an 
  emergency and will enable you to receive up-to-date information on security 
  conditions.                                                                 
                                                                       
  Emergency information concerning Americans traveling abroad may be obtained 
  by calling 1-888-407-4747 toll free in the U.S. and Canada or the regular   
  toll line 1-202-501-4444 for callers outside the U.S. and Canada.           
                                                                       
  The National Passport Information Center (NPIC) is the U.S. Department of   
  State's single, centralized public contact center for U.S. passport         
  information. Telephone: 1-877-4USA-PPT (1-877-487-2778). Customer service   
  representatives and operators for TDD/TTY are available Monday-Friday, 7:00 
  a.m. to 12:00 midnight, Eastern Time, excluding federal holidays.           
                                                                       
  Travelers can check the latest health information with the U.S. Centers for 
  Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, Georgia. A hotline at 877-FYI-TRIP
  (877-394-8747) and a web site at http://www.cdc.gov/travel/index.htm give the
  most recent health advisories, immunization recommendations or requirements,
  and advice on food and drinking water safety for regions and countries. A   
  booklet entitled "Health Information for International Travel" (HHS         
  publication number CDC-95-8280) is available from the U.S. Government       
  Printing Office, Washington, DC 20402, tel. (202) 512-1800.                 
                                                                       
  Further Electronic Information                                              
  Department of State Web Site. Available on the Internet at http://          
  www.state.gov, the Department of State web site provides timely, global     
  access to official U.S. foreign policy information, including Background    
  Notes and daily press briefings along with the directory of key officers of 
  Foreign Service posts and more. The Overseas Security Advisory Council (OSAC)
  provides security information and regional news that impact U.S. companies  
  working abroad through its website http://www.osac.gov                      
                                                                       
  Export.gov provides a portal to all export-related assistance and market    
  information offered by the federal government and provides trade leads, free
  export counseling, help with the export process, and more.                  
  STAT-USA/Internet, a service of the U.S. Department of Commerce, provides   
  authoritative economic, business, and international trade information from  
  the Federal government. The site includes current and historical            
  trade-related releases, international market research, trade opportunities, 
  and country analysis and provides access to the National Trade Data Bank.   

 

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