Lisbon - Angola and Portugal on Thursday signed an agreement to speed up the processing of visas for travel between the two countries, in a move designed to cut bureaucracy and strengthen their already significant economic ties.
“This deal will make things a lot easier, and I would consider it revolutionary for the movement of people and goods between the countries,” Angolan Foreign Minister George Chikoti told reporters after signing the agreement in Lisbon.
Despite the historical ties - former colony Angola gained independence from Portugal in 1975 - and growing trade and investment, visa approval has been a long-standing diplomatic tussle between the two countries.
An estimated 100,000 Portuguese work in Angola, mainly helping Africa's second-largest oil producer re-build an infrastructure decimated by a 27-year civil war, which ended in 2002. Around 25,000 Angolans are estimated to live in Portugal.
Chikoti said Angolans have been frustrated with the visa process, while many Portuguese have had to wait months for business visas or work permits, with many of them rejected after the wait.
Portuguese Foreign Minister Paulo Portas said the deal would allow for issuing of two, 90-day business visas per year with multiple entries, while work permits will now last up to three years, compared to the previous one year. The approval process will also speed up.
Portas said 7,000 Portuguese companies operate in Angola, an economic link that is especially important as Portugal fights the effects of its sovereign debt crisis.
Angolan companies - most linked to the state - have invested heavily in Portugal, including buying stakes in banks Millennium BCP and Banco BPI and oil company Gal .
Media reports say Angolan investors are also interested in the privatisation of Portugal's stakes in utility EDP , electricity grid operator REN . - Reuters