State visit success as Spanish King and Queen create new partnerships with Angola

THE Spanish royals left Angola on Wednesday, February 8 after making an ‘express visit’ to the southern African nation, hoping to open a new phase in relations between the two countries.

King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia arrived in Angola a day and a half earlier as they look to create bilateral agreements amid the shifting world order. Despite spending less than two days in the country, the royals packed in plenty of engagements including creating new business deals, conferences with President, João Lourenço and appealing for the end of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

The Spanish King also addressed the Angolan parliament in the capital of Luanda, speaking about the greatest challenges facing Africa today including terrorism, humanitarian crises, organised crime and regional instability such as in the Horn of Africa and the Sahel region.

Meanwhile, Queen Letizia visited a maternity hospital with the Angolan First Lady, Ana Dias Lourenço where they saw the hospital’s latest policies to deal with health challenges including reducing HIV transmission to newborns with the ‘Born Free to Shine’ programme’.

Leaders from both countries hope the visit will strengthen relations.