Angola hosts reception to mark 39th Independence Day

It was a well-attended National Day party and there were many distinguished guests from Korean society as well as from the Diplomatic Corps and other segments of international community in Korea.

Among the Korean guests stood out Speaker Chung Ui-Hwa of the National Assembly as he delivered a congratulatory speech in celebration of the auspicious day of Angola.

From the Diplomatic Corps came an unsually large number of mission chiefs and other senior diplomats. They included Ambassadors Hocine Sahraoui of Algeria, Albino Malungo of Angola, Elisabeth Bertagnoli of Austria, Ramzi Teymurov of Azerbaijan, Natallia Jhylevich of Belarus, Edmundo Sussumu Fujita of Brazil, Dato Haji Harun Ismail of Brunei Darussalam, Petar Andonov of Bulgaria, Tito Saul Pinilla Pinilla of Colombia, Manuel Lopez Trigo of Costa Rica, Dibaba Abdetta (Dr.) of Ethiopia, Carlos Victor Boungou of Gabon, Rolf Mafael of Germany, Nikoloz Apkhazava of Georgia, Khalil Ismai Abdul Sahib Al-Mosawi of Iraq, Dulat Bakisher of Kazakhstan, Gathoga Wanyoika of Kenya (CDA), Jasem Mohamed Albudaiwi of Kuwait, Duishonkul Chotonov of Kyrgyzstan, Dato Rohana binti Ramli of Malaysia, Mohammed Chraibi of Morocco, Zahid Nasrulah Khan of Pakistan, Jaime Antonio Pomareda of Peru, Raul S. Hernandez of the Philippines, Krzysztof Majka of Poland, Fabian of Romania, Konstantin V. Vnukov of Russia, Mamadou Ndiaye of Senegal, Omrie Michael Golley of Sierra Leone, Hilton A. Dennis of South Africa, Tissa Wijeratne of Sri Lanka, Hernani Filomena Coelho Da Silva of Timor Leste, Mohamed Ali Nafti of Tunisia, Myrat Mammetalyyev of Turkmenistan and Ms. Yadira Hidalgo de Ortiz of Venezuela (CDA). (The Korea Post expresses regret for their inability to identify the mission chief(s) hidden behind those in their front.)

Speaking to the guests in a welcome speech, Ambassador Malungo said, “Internationally, Angola and the Republic of Korea, have taken similar positions on all issues affecting international security. I take this opportunity to thank the Government of the Republic of Korea and other countries that backed the election of Angola as a Non-Permanent Member of the United Nations’ Security Council for the biennium 2015-2016.” Excerpts from the speech follow:

I would first like to thank everyone for your presence at this celebration which marks 39 years of Angolan independence and is the most important national holiday for my people, which has been celebrated since 1975.

Allow me to take this opportunity to express once again, in the name of His Excellency Jose Eduardo dos Santos, President of the Republic of Angola, and on behalf of the Angolan Government and people, our deepest condolences to the Korean Government and people, and in particular the families of victims, for the tragic accident of the Sewol ferry.

The balance of the 39 years of independence of Angola necessarily involves the evocation of the period of war that ravaged the country from 1961 until April 4th, 2002, when peace was finally achieved nationwide.

Today Angola knows a new reality. In twelve years, all the barriers imposed by the war have been overcome, with the successful implementation of the program of reconstruction and national reconciliation, and macroeconomic stabilization.

The performance of the Angolan economy, which has shown average growth rates and inflation below ten percent in the past seven years, serves as evidence that Angola is on track for its development. One of the main millennium development goals was achieved with the extraordinary reduction of poverty indices.

I want to highlight the successful completion of the period of May 16th to 31st this year, the first population census of post-independence.

The first preliminary results show that the country has 24.3 million inhabitants, the majority being young, with 52 percent of the total being female.
Internationally, Angola and the Republic of Korea, have taken similar positions on all issues affecting international security.

I take this opportunity to thank the Government of the Republic of Korea and other countries that backed the election of Angola as a Non-Permanent Member of the United Nations’ Security Council for the biennium 2015-2016.

Angola, a country with an environment of peace and stability arising from a process of national reconciliation, intends to share its experiences and achievements while contributing to international peace and security, fundamental premises for development, democracy and the promotion of and respect for human rights.

Based on this spirit, Angola has reaffirmed its commitment to seeking solutions, both bilaterally and multilaterally as President of the International Commission of the Great Lakes Region, and within the UN Security Council and the African Union’s Peace and Security Council.

In an effort to maintain peace, we manifest the availability of integrating forces of UN Peacekeeping, under the framework of the United Nation’s MINUSCA (Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in the Central African Republic), thus satisfying the request made by the Government of that country.

Moreover, we would like to ensure that, while not a Permanent Member of the Security Council of the United Nations, Angola will exert influence so that forces for peacekeeping in Africa may possess necessary resources and continue to develop their respective missions successfully.

This is a sublime opportunity to stress that the relations of friendship and cooperation between Angola and South Korea are dynamic and their indicators are likely to increase with each year that passes. Visas in diplomatic and service passports have been exempted speeding up the movement of leaders and professionals between the two countries. We hope that the next Bilateral Joint-Commission for Cooperation will bring about other decisions that strengthen the partnership.