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Angola 2/7/11

Thank you for the invitation to attend this important forum of reflection on the external policy of the Republic of Angola. I have accepted with much pleasure because the holding of this Broad Consultative Council takes place at a time the world is going through a very troubled period, marked by crises of political, military, economic and social nature in various countries, particularly in Africa and Middle East.
 
These crises, some of which are old, result from the incapacity to find political understandings or adequate programs for their resolution, tending to aggravate because of the profound alterations the world has been experiencing over the two last decades.
 
With effect, with the end of the cold war, there was an alteration to the correlations of forces established after the World War II, when the political and juridical bases were defined to support the norms and universal mechanisms in force on which the functioning of the International Community is based.

In this process of transformation of the international relations there has been a great contribution from the phenomenon of globalization that had as its main propellers the globalization of the economy, the development of the new information and communication technologies, that guarantee the establishment of global networks of production and functionality of the international financial markets, as well as a true revolution of communication.
 
The speed of transports, circulation of information and financial flows in the world brought the countries closer and accentuated the inter-dependence, in major or minor scale, among the various actors of the international relations, imposing that an occurrence of a fact in country or in a sub-region may have an impact or influence on other point of the planet.
 
Thus, besides the problems that are of their own, the states cannot effort ignoring a due attention to external matters and conceiving programs of politico-diplomatic action and international cooperation with clear objectives to attain at short, medium and long term.
 
In the set of these matters, may we underline the recent economic and financial crisis caused by inadequate policies adopted by the most industrialized western countries and that had negative direct or indirect consequences to the daily lives of millions of people in the world.

While the economies of the countries recover from this phenomenon, other problems of the actuality worth mentioning are the inter-state conflicts, terrorism, drugs and human trafficking, illegal immigration, piracy, trans-national crimes, the great endemics, poverty and political, ethnic and religious intolerance, discrimination against race and women.

These matters naturally must continue figuring in our international programmes and agendas, as well as others such as natural disasters, that have been causing a high number of human victims and enormous material damages as a result of climate changes and that require us to take an active part in the international concert, with a view to adoption of measures to lessen the emission of greenhouse effects, global warming and desertification.

Other matters like the promotion and protection of human rights, the promotion of democracy, good governance and economic and social development must also be at the centre of our attention.

In this context, Mr. Minister, Mr. ambassadors, dear guests, it is not difficult to conclude that, in this context, the Angolan State has many important and urgent tasks that require appropriate treatment by personnel with good technical and political skill and the existence of a capable Foreign Affairs Ministry that assumes, in fact, its role of main external policy executing and coordinating organ.
 
Therefore, this Ministry has to perfect its organizational structure, rationalize its work methods and improve the coordination and control of its actions.

It is expected that this Consultative Council makes a critical analysis of the situation of the Foreign Affairs Ministry, of its organic structure and of its internal regulations, of the quality of its human resources and of its material and technical resources, as well as the performance of the diplomatic and consular missions.

Of no less importance for the efficient functioning of the Ministry is the study of the need for a new methodology of relationship between the central structure and the embassies concerning the choice, treatment, processing and expedition of information in order to guarantee the comprehension of the objectives and realization with quality of the diplomatic actions.

We want the Foreign Affairs Ministry to be de facto a modern organ with great capacity for effective and efficacious execution of our external policy.

This policy is based on the structuring principles of the Constitution of the Republic and on the Executive Programme of Action whose goals seek: 

1. The preservation and strengthening of national sovereignty;

2. Assistance to economic, social and political development of the country, through a major integration of Angola in the world;

3. Protection to Angolans’ rights and interests abroad;

4. Assistance to promotion of international cooperation in all its domains;

5. Assumption of the culture as one of the main elements for the reaffirmation of national identity;

6. Promotion of Angola’s image abroad;

7. Promotion of world peace, security and stability;

8. Prevention, management and resolution of conflicts through peace and condemnation of the use of force as a conflict resolution means out of the United Nations system and of the African Union parameters;

9. The recognition of the International Law as a norm of conduct of the States in their relations; 

10. The defense and promotion of international cooperation and regional integration as a system of cohabitation and ways of development of the States; 

11. Reinforcement of the role of multilateral, regional and international organizations at the service of peace and development of the States; 

12. The rejection of all and any form of colonialism, neo-colonialism, terrorism, discrimination or segregation and recognition of the right of the peoples to self-determination and their liberation from oppressive systems;

13. Non-interference with internal affairs of other States and respect for the principle of sovereignty equality among the States.
 
Mr. Minister, Mr. ambassadors, distinguished guest, this occasion, of the holding of the Consultative Council of the Foreign Affairs Ministry, must also be used to discuss, within the terms of the law, a general plan of retirement of the diplomats with more than 60 years of age, by immediately creating instruments to recognize the merit and honour those that in this activity have excelled in serving the Angolan Nation.
 
On the other hand, we must recognize that the Statute of the Diplomat that has 18 years in force and which is now intended to be reviewed, represented for that period a great progress by consecrating and recognizing acquired rights.

The current revision proposal, in resuming the progresses attained with the public and application of that document, aims at its preservation and consequent reinforcement, now requiring from the professionals of the Angolan diplomacy an academic profile and moral, ethic and patriotic qualities that correspond to the level of development the country has achieved, maintaining the same dimension of rights and privileges universally consecrated for diplomats, without overlooking the particularity and reality of the country.

On the other hand, it is necessary to evaluate the way the financial resources the State puts at the disposal of the sector are utilized. Let me ask all managers and embassies’ managers in particular, to make a permanent effort to run in an adequate, responsible and transparent way the public funds, based on rigour established for the execution of the State Budget.

Mr. Minister, ladies and gentlemen, one of the relevant challenges facing the Angolan external policy and diplomacy is to promote and defend the interests, the prestige and image of the country to the International Community.

We must continue developing politico-diplomatic actions that lead to development of the Gulf of Guinea Commission, of the Great Lake Conference and of the African Su-regional Economic Communities of which we are part, namely the SADC and ECCAS.

Let us not forget that we are holding the CPLP presidency for two years and that it is our duty to do all possible for the deliberations from this community, approved in the Luanda Summit and of non-applied others, be implemented with success.

In this context, we have to prioritize the realization of the programme on Guinea-Bissau and on the adoption of Portuguese as working language of the United Nations Organization.

We must also, within our real power, contribute to the resolution of the global problems, particularly those that affect our continent and simultaneously take ourselves as a factor of peace, regional and world security and acting as a fair partner, ready to share interests and cooperate with reciprocal advantages in the construction of a better a better world.

In this framework, it is important to reinforce the role of multilateralism in the resolution of universal problems, according to the logic of a new thinking of share responsibilities and benefits based on the recognition of the legitimate interests of all parties in their concert with a view to practicable solutions.

Today, it is greater and greater the general recognition that the institutions created more than 60 years ago, that is after the World War II, need reformulation and adjustment to the new realities of the actual world.

It is thus necessary for us to get actively involved in this process of reform and continue fighting for an effective and wider participation of Africa in the United Nations Security Council, in the World Monetary Fund and in the informal organs like the G20, G8 and others.

Dear members of the Consultative Council, allow me to express my satisfaction with your taking the initiative of, finally, holding this meeting whose results, I am sure, will have positive effects on our future work.

With these words, I wish much success to your meeting.

Thank you very much