Botswana–Angola: Over 60 Companies at the First Business Forum in Luanda

More than 60 Angolan and Botswanan companies are expected to participate this Tuesday, 8 September in Luanda at the first business forum between the two countries. Held during the state visit of Botswana’s president, Duma Boko, the event aims to bring the private sectors closer and to generate concrete projects in trade, investment, and partnership.

Around twenty companies from Botswana are announced, facing more than 40 Angolan firms. The delegations are particularly targeting agro-industry, mining, tourism, transport, and logistics—sectors in which Luanda and Gaborone seek to expand a relationship still largely dominated by natural resources.

The forum takes place the day after Duma Boko’s arrival in Angola for a three-day visit. The trip marks the fiftieth anniversary of diplomatic relations between the two countries, established in 1976, and follows several months of discussions aimed at giving a more structured foundation to their economic cooperation.

The first session of the Angola–Botswana Bilateral Commission, held in Luanda before the presidential visit, identified new avenues in transport and infrastructure, energy, mineral resources, agriculture and livestock, food security, and tourism. Two legal instruments have already been signed to organize regular political consultations and facilitate the professional activities of diplomatic staff dependents.

From Political Dialogue to Investment Projects

One of the forum’s challenges is to increase trade exchanges that remain modest compared to the economic weight of the two countries. Authorities want to create direct relations between companies, identify projects likely to be financed, and attract more private capital in sectors capable of supporting economic diversification.

Botswana is particularly interested in Angolan energy and logistics infrastructure. Luanda has indicated that Gaborone plans to participate in the capital of the Lobito refinery, a project worth over six billion dollars. The two countries also want to deepen their cooperation in the diamond value chain, from extraction to cutting and marketing.

For Duma Boko, the Luanda sequence continues a strategy aimed at attracting more private investment to Botswana and reducing the country’s dependence on a few extractive activities. The forum offers Gaborone direct access to Angolan companies and projects related to transport corridors, energy, and industrialization.

The next step will be to convert business meetings and bilateral mechanisms into contracts, investments, and execution schedules. The follow-up of commitments must now go through the permanent cooperation structures established between Luanda and Gaborone.