• Angola and India signed five legal instruments to strengthen cooperation in fisheries, biofuels, wildlife conservation, consular affairs, and aviation.

• India is Angola’s second-largest trading partner, accounting for 10% of its foreign trade, mainly through crude oil exports.

• President João Lourenço expressed Angola’s interest in medical and professional training cooperation with India.

Angola and India signed five legal cooperation instruments during the first state visit to Angola by Indian President Droupadi Murmu, the Angolan presidency announced on Sunday, November 9, 2025.

The agreements include three memorandums of understanding and two bilateral accords. The first MoU covers fisheries, aquaculture, and marine resources. The second concerns cooperation under the Global Biofuel Alliance, while the third addresses wildlife conservation, focusing on the protection of big cats and scientific collaboration in biodiversity preservation.

In addition to the MoUs, the two countries signed a consular agreement that allows dependents of diplomatic staff to engage in paid employment. They also concluded an air services agreement to facilitate direct air connectivity between the two nations.

These new legal frameworks mark a strengthening of diplomatic and economic ties between Luanda and New Delhi, following a series of earlier agreements reached during Angolan President João Lourenço’s visit to India in May 2025, the first such visit by an Angolan head of state in 35 years.

Angola and India have long-standing economic relations, particularly in the energy sector, dating back to Angola’s pre-independence period. Both nations are now working to diversify their cooperation beyond oil, focusing on technology, agriculture, and health.

India remains one of Angola’s top three trading partners, ranking second after China, and accounts for around 10% of Angola’s external trade. Trade between the two countries primarily includes crude oil, rice, packaged pharmaceuticals, and diamonds.

During the state visit, President João Lourenço reaffirmed Angola’s commitment to expanding bilateral cooperation, particularly in health and education.

“Angola is particularly interested in cooperation with India in the health sector, where India excels, notably through the quality of its doctors and the possibility of sending our doctors and specialists to train in India, both at undergraduate and specialization levels,” Lourenço said.

This article was initially published in French by Lydie Mobio

Adapted in English by Ange Jason Quenum