Angola is located on the western coast of Southern Africa. With a population of approximately 35 million, it is the continent’s seventh-largest country and largest Portuguese-speaking country.
Rich in mineral and oil reserves, Angola’s economy heavily depends on commodity exports, primarily oil and related products. The country is committed to diversifying its economy, increasing the export value of its non-oil/extractive sectors, and integrating the global market.
Our partnership
The EU supports Angola’s sustainable and inclusive development efforts, in line with the National Development Strategy 2023-2027 (Plano de Desenvolvimento Nacional) and its long-term development vision 'Angola 2050', and the EU’s Global Gateway strategy.
Our actions build on Angola’s commitment to diversifying the economy in a sustainable manner, promoting good governance, and fostering human development.
Team Europe in Angola brings together the EU, the European Investment Bank, France, Portugal, and the Netherlands. Together, we implement an Initiative on Diversification of Economy and Public Financial Management.
The high-level partnership between the EU and Angola is based on the Joint Way Forward (JWF), signed in 2012.
Angola is the first country with which the EU signed a Sustainable Investment Facilitation Agreement (it entered into force on 1 September 2024). Its overall objective is to facilitate the attraction, expansion, and retention of investment between Angola and the EU, and promote environment and labour rights commitments.
The EU allocated EUR 275 million in grant funding towards the partnership in 2021-24. Angola also benefits from several multi-country EU programmes.
EU-Angola partnership programming documents can be found in the 'Related documents' section below.
Our flagship initiatives
- Lobito Corridor
Connecting Angola, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Zambia to global markets, it is the first strategic economic corridor launched under the flagship G7 Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investment (PGII). The Lobito Corridor will unlock the region’s potential, enhance export opportunities for the three countries, and generate local added value and jobs through investments and softer support measures. The EU partners with Angola on:
- Infrastructure – Rehabilitation and upgrade of existing railway line connecting Angola to DRC, and support to a greenfield railway line to connect to Zambia, starting with feasibility studies.
- Value chains and related skills – Support for agriculture/agribusiness and agriculture value chains, sustainable energy, capacity building, and professional training in railway-related professions (TVET) will be provided through actions under the Angola Multiannual Indicative Programme 2021-2027.
- Trade and Transit – The headquarters of the Lobito Corridor Trade and Transit Facilitation Agency (LCTTFA) is located in Lobito, Angola. Support measures will focus on (1) Customs Cooperation and Mutual Administrative Assistance; (2) Trade Facilitation (particularly at the Angola-DRC border); (3) Transit Facilitation; (4) Corridor Management.
- Trade, investment and private sector development
The EU partners with Angola on:
- Economic integration – Supporting Angola’s accession to the EU SADC Economic Partnership Agreement, and the implementation of the Sustainable Investment Facilitation Agreement (SIFA).
- Facilitating inclusive and sustainable trade and exports.
- Strengthening interoperability of digital platforms.
- Engaging the private sector, including via Angola-EU Business Fora.
- Formal economy – support the Government’s efforts to expand access to social protection, financial services and business-related trainings for businesses and vulnerable workers, especially women.
- Renewable energy
Angola has great potential for a green transition, aiming to support the country’s economic diversification efforts while reducing inequalities and enhancing sustainability. This transition will involve supporting the generation, transmission, and distribution of clean energy through infrastructure construction (e.g. hydropower plant, solar parks), support to regulatory framework, and private sector and skills development.
- Agri-food systems
Diversifying the economy is a national priority for Angola. Our efforts aim at supporting a robust agriculture-based value chain.
- Helping agri-producers access finance, produce and market, with an emphasis on developing the coffee value chain in Luanda, Kwanza-Sul, Kwanza-Norte, and Uíge.
- Enhancing family farming resilience, with a focus on strengthening capacity and food and nutrition security.
- Agricultural skills development through technical and vocational education and training.
- Education and skills
Establish a quality higher education system, achieved through capacity building and a robust technical and vocational education and training (TVET) system, to ensure that courses align with market needs and contribute to economic diversification.
Our support to TVET includes entrepreneurship promotion through mentoring, incubation, and micro-credits.
Both our higher education and TVET sectors support initiatives reinforce information systems for improved planning and management. Additionally, the EU has contributed to the design of the National System of Qualifications, a key tool for ensuring the transparency and comparability of qualifications.
- Blue economy
With approximately 1600 km of coastline, the blue economy is a crucial component of Angola’s well-being and food security. Fishery is one of the important production sectors in Angola and a priority for economic diversification. The country is endowed with rich marine biodiversity and seeks to explore it sustainably.
- Biological resources management through Marine Spatial Planning and the protection of marine biodiversity and ecosystems, particularly within the Blue Benguela Current.
- Aquatic foods value chains through capacity building for value chain actors, infrastructure development, supporting services, market strategies, investment, and export promotion.
- Maritime security: enhancing the capacity of criminal justice actors through the Safe Seas for Africa initiative, improving maritime safety and security in the Gulf of Guinea, supporting the Yaoundé Architecture, and upscaling port security and the safety of navigation in the region.
- Environment
The EU partners with Angola on:
- Enhancing the environmental conditions of coastal towns and coastlines and upgrading the solid waste value chain.
- Fostering the adoption of a circular economic model in Luanda province.
- Restoring biodiversity in protected areas and positioning Angola as an ecotourism destination.
- Governance and civil society
Governance, the Rule of Law, and civic participation are the backbone of sustainable, equitable, and just development. The EU-Angola partnership is grounded in the promotion and protection of governance principles and the respect for basic freedoms. The EU partners with Angola on:
- Addressing rule of law by supporting reforms in the justice system (including through e-justice) and related policies, combatting organised crime, and promoting public finance management reforms.
- Enhancing the performance and professionalism of the justice system.
- Improving e-justice and data protection, privacy rights, and cybersecurity.
- Strengthening the capacity of civil society to play a role in national policy dialogues and fostering citizens’ participation in governance to promote transparency and accountability.
