Nigeria, Angola Seal Deals On Illicit Drug Fight, Enhanced Cultural Exchange

The Nigerian government and the Republic of Angola have signed agreements consisting of cooperation on combating illicit production, manufacture and trafficking in narcotic drugs, psychological substances and their precursors as well as on cultural cooperation and exchange.

This was disclosed in a statement on Sunday by the Special Assistant on Communication and New Media, Office of the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Dr. Magnus Eze.

According to the statement, the two countries signed the agreements during the just concluded 5th Session of the Nigeria-Angola Bilateral Economic Joint Commission in Luanda, Angola that held between September 9th and 12th, 2025.

The Nigerian government also facilitated a landmark twinning agreement on socio-economic and cultural development between Bayelsa State and Namibe, a province of Angola.

It also midwifed another economic cooperation deal between Nasarawa State and the Angolan province of Bengo.

Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu, who led the Nigerian delegation, signed on behalf of the Federal Government and the Angolan Secretary of State for International Cooperation, Amb. Domingos Lopes, signed for his country.

In the same vein, Governor Douye Diri of Bayelsa State and his Namibe Province counterpart, Dr. Archer Mangueira, respectively signed their sister-cities twinning agreement.

Ambassador Odumegwu-Ojukwu highlighted the significance of the joint commission while recalling the historic bonds between Nigeria and Angola, dating back to 1975 when Angola became independent.

“Our meeting in the last three days was not only to reflect on the state of our bilateral relations but also to identify new areas of cooperation in keeping with our collective desire to enhance partnership for a better future.

“We deserve to achieve sustainable economic growth, job creation, people-to-people contact, and poverty reduction for our peoples.

“The joint commission between our two countries thus provides a good framework to develop strategies with a view to strengthening and broadening our bilateral relations.

“The signing of the three agreements, including the historic twinning agreement between Bayelsa State of Nigeria and the Province of Namibe in Angola in areas of cooperation, not only signals our collective desire to promote economic, political, cultural, social, educational and scientific cooperation.

“It also marks a strategic partnership to boost economic growth and create employment opportunities thus making a contribution in the fight against poverty and underdevelopment in our two countries,” the minister said.

She said added that the contributions of the delegates at the meeting indicated the resolve of the two countries to effectively collaborate.

Amb. Odumegwu-Ojukwu, and her Angolan counterpart, Amb. Lopes praised both countries for resuscitating the joint commission.

Other Memoranda of Understanding already fine-tuned between Nigeria and Angola were slated for signing in due course.

There was also high-level meeting of experts from both countries which bordered on various areas of cooperation between the two countries at the event.

Theese areas include visa waivers, simplified customs procedures and preferential cargo lanes; economic diversification on non-oil sectors, trade facilitation, promotion of indigenous oil services firms in engineering, fabrication, logistics among others for offshore projects, and the need to pursue upstream and services partnership between the two countries.

Both countries also deliberated on gas to power exploration, LNG trading and swaps, ports and transport upgrades, warehousing and inter-land links.

The Nigerian minister who addressed a press conference after the session explained, “We negotiated on avoidance of double taxation, agriculture pilot projects mechanisation on banana, cassava, rice and poultry for export; technical manpower transfer and assistance through the Nigeria Technical Aid Programme; opening channels for trade settlement by creating Naira/Kwanza corridors, whilst we commended Angola for accommodating Nigerian banks like Access Bank and UBA into its economy; discussions about a private sector initiative towards the establishment of a business council between both countries, as well as investment promotion and protection.”

The minister stressed that an agreement on creative economy, arts and culture to promote cultural exchange programmes in film and music co-production, festivals, touring agreements was also presented and signed at the meeting.

“We proposed a more vibrant marine tourism, and an international boat cruise between Nigerian and Angolan coasts, especially during Detty December,” she disclosed.

She further described the joint commission as fruitful, stating that both countries will work on actualising the strategic outcomes.