致力扭转单一化发展格局——专访安哥拉贸易部长若弗雷·范杜嫩（Joffre Van-Dunem Junior）

“我们的2018-2022年贸易发展计划有四个宏观目标和14个具体项目，其中包括稳定宏观经济、促进私营业发展、建设现代化物流链、提高国内生产，以及确保向消费者提供优质产品等。”

11月7日，率团参加中国第二届进口博览会的安哥拉国家贸易部长若弗雷·范杜嫩接受本刊记者专访时表示。他说，“尽管在目前经济危机情况下获取投资资金更加困难，但我们相信，贸易能够，并且终将成为经济发展的发动机，我们以谨慎的态度不断努力确保经济保持稳定，以实现我们的宏观经济发展目标。”

⬆安哥拉贸易部长在上海进口博览会期间听取中国高铁技术讲解

出台新政 提供多样化商品和服务

《中国投资》：请介绍一下安哥拉贸易发展现状。面临哪些挑战？

若弗雷·范杜嫩：贸易是安哥拉共和国主要经济驱动力之一，而且近年来，业已成为创造就业机会的主要手段之一。安哥拉正在进行经济转型和现代化建设，主要考虑经济多样化的需要，以使其保持可持续发展，并扩大私营部门参与度。国内贸易和对外贸易是实现国家经济转型的两个主要领域。无论是在国内还是对外贸易方面，我们在政府的统一领导下，致力于立法，制定法规并监督，以确保其和谐发展并满足安哥拉消费者日益增长的期望。在国内贸易方面，我们启动了农村贸易发展计划，旨在优化和改善农产品供应物流链，确保他们能够定期向主要的消费中心供应商品。

在贸易领域，我们面临的最大挑战是如何减少非正规经济活动，以提高物流和仓储链的效率，提高农业生产水平，促进农村贸易，以及在农村与城市商业中心之间建立贸易流通体系和建设物流基础设施。在这方面，我们不断进行结构性调整并采取法律手段进行监督，以确保在经济发展中，私营部门发挥带头作用，同时，政府做好保障服务工作，支持和激励在安哥拉经商以及为国家创造就业机会的企业和个人。

克服这些困难可能需要一些时间，但我们将致力于提供多样化的商品和服务，希望在未来几年能够扭转单纯石油输出国和食品进口国的现状。安哥拉拥有农业发展潜力，能够实现食品的自给自足，投资者可以抓住这一优势在当地生产，产品可供应国内市场，并出口到其他国家。

《中国投资》：为实现经济快速发展，安哥拉政府有哪些贸易发展计划？将实现什么发展目标？ 出台哪些贸易新政？

若弗雷·范杜嫩：安哥拉2018-2022年贸易发展计划有四个宏观目标和14个具体项目，包括稳定宏观经济、促进私营业发展、建设现代化物流链、提高国内生产水平及确保向消费者提供优质产品等。

我们主要的目标不仅是吸引投资，推动私营企业发展，同时创造可持续的经济发展环境，并且保证安哥拉的经济与非洲其他国家协调发展，使海外投资者更容易进入安哥拉市场。

安哥拉制定和采取了许多新政策和措施，旨在促进私营企业的商业活动，促进国内的贸易发展，其中包括新的《私人投资法》、新的《竞争法》、下放商业许可权、设立外贸一站窗口、应用海关资料自动系统等。
另外，在总统若昂·洛伦索的领导下政府宣布，对腐败和贿赂行为零容忍，鼓励国内外私人投资者参与实现国家经济多元化发展，同时提高国内生产力水平，减少对原油依赖，这也是我们所做出的承诺。

面对全球挑战 致力经济结构改革

《中国投资》：当前全球复杂多变的国际贸易形势对安哥拉的经济贸易有何影响？政府将如何回应？

若弗雷·范杜嫩：安哥拉仍然依赖石油出口，因此，原油价格下跌将直接影响我们的经济。当前，全球经济进入衰退期，而安哥拉正处于经济发展和重建重要基础设施的过程中，一切都不得不中断，除此之外，我们还面临世界市场的不确定性这一问题，这阻碍了资金向我们这样的发展中国家流动。

安哥拉需要吸引大量投资，以促进经济多样化，并提高国民生产水平，同时还必须增加在卫生、教育和新基础设施建设方面的支出。尽管在全球危机情况下获取投资资金更加困难，但我们相信，贸易能够，并且终将成为经济发展的发动机，我们小心谨慎地不断努力确保国家经济保持稳定，以实现我们的宏观经济计划目标。简而言之，金融危机和世界市场的不确定性直接影响了我国经济的格局，迫使我们必须奠定国民经济多元化发展的基础。

正如我之前所说，这场危机给我们带来了严重的困难，但是安哥拉政府非常清楚所面临的主要挑战，就是如何解决经济结构性问题。因此，我相信，如果继续专注于我们追求的改革，我们将确保安哥拉有能力克服危机，实现经济可持续增长，创造就业机会并改善人民生活。

近年来，安哥拉致力改革并取得积极成果：自2018年1月开始实施宏观经济稳定计划以来，赤字率为2.2％，2019年上半年，赤字率约1.3％。在过去的12个月中，通货膨胀率为17.25％，比2018年同期的18.6％降低1.36个百分点。此外，我们已经采取了一些措施吸引私人投资，促进国内产业发展，例如将195家国有企业私有化，其中包括商业银行、纺织厂、商业农场、物流和公路运输、采矿和电信部门等。

两国合作实现中长期互惠互利

《中国投资》：您如何评价安哥拉与中国的贸易投资合作情况？安哥拉有哪些投资优势及重点发展领域？

若弗雷·范杜嫩：“对于中国在国际上作为和平与稳定的因素所发挥的建设性作用，以及在促进其他国家的进步与发展中所发挥的作用，安哥拉表示高度赞赏。”若昂·洛伦索总统的这番讲话表达了他对安哥拉与中国合作的发自内心的感受。 

十多年来，中国一直是我们主要的贸易和投资伙伴，我相信，中国将会成为发展中国家进行深入的经济和社会改革的灵感之源。在贸易和投资方面，安哥拉真诚欢迎各领域的投资，我们的国家具有地理位置优势，可以通过海运、铁路和公路与非洲其他市场相连。安哥拉政府制定了一项支持生产和出口的国家计划（PRODESI），政府希望通过该计划的实施，大幅减少进口，增加国内基本商品的产量，计划选择了54种生活必需品，提倡在国内生产，在国内消费和潜在出口。
我认为，中国企业投资的主要领域应该是农业、农产品加工业，纺织、采矿、教育、卫生和基础设施。同时，中国投资者可以在安哥拉的各个领域进行投资，但我国宏观经济发展的重点领域是产业集群、物流集散、农业和农产品加工、采矿和基础设施，并始终考虑如何能实现中长期互惠互利。

正如我所说，安哥拉提供了巨大的机会，拥有许多矿产资源，在农业、渔业、旅游业和建筑业等非石油部门都呈现强劲增长势头。我们拥有年轻的人口、稳定的体制框架，同时政府致力于改革，力争创建蓬勃发展和竞争激烈的商业环境。为了吸引投资，特别是来自中国的投资，我们需要确定谁是投资者，以便了解他们的需求和他们感兴趣的领域。政府已采取切实措施，并向中国工商界明示，安哥拉已经在国内建立透明、公平竞争环境，而且保证相关法律保护措施到位，能够确保在安格来投资安全。

《中国投资》：安哥拉政府对两国未来的贸易和投资合作有哪些期待？

若弗雷·范杜嫩：在过去的十年中，中国为安哥拉的重要基础设施项目提供了大量资金，现在我们希望看到中国直接投资重点也转移到其他领域。我们期待中国技术和技能转移投资，以优化我们的制造流程，并为年轻人创造就业机会。

因此，我们希望看到中国投资者和企业家的投资能够创造优质就业机会、为当地产品增加价值，同时为当地创造更多财富。因此，我希望中国企业家能够以双赢的方式在安哥拉投资并开展大型业务，并使我国成为中国在非洲投资的平台。

⬆中国铁建二十局集团有限公司承建的安哥拉奎托机场（图片提供：中国铁建二十局有限公司）

英文版

Committed to Reversing a Uniform Development Pattern

——Interview with Joffre Van-Dunem Junior, Angola’s Minister of Commerce

By Zhang Mei  China Investment

“Our trade development plan for 2018-2022 has four macro goals and 14 specific projects, which among others include the macroeconomic stabilization, boosting of the private sector, the modernization of the logistics chain, fostering the national production and ensuring quality products for the consumers. ”On 7th November, while attending the 2nd China International Import Expo, Joffre Van-Dunem Junior, Angola’s Minister of Commerce, gave an exclusive interview to China Investment Magazine. He said, While getting investment funds in crisis scenario is harder, we believe that trade can and should be an important engine of our economy and we are working prudently and constantly to ensure that our economy remains stable as well in order to achieve our goals on macroeconomic program.

China Investment: Status of Trade Development in Angola.What are the Key Areas?What are the Challenges?

Joffre Van-Dunem Junior: Trade is one of the main economic drivers of the economy of the Republic of Angola, and in recent years it has been one of the main job creators.

We are currently in a process of transforming and modernizing our economy taking into account the need of its diversification in order to make it sustainable and with greater involvement of the private sector.

The two main areas of intervention are Internal Trade and Foreign Trade.

In both, and in line with the Government policies, we are focused on legislation, regulation and supervision to ensure its harmonious development and to meet the rising expectations of the Angolan consumers.

In Domestic Trade, we’ve launched a Rural Trade Development Project, whose main goal is to improve the rural producer's logistics chain and to ensure a regular supply to the major consumption centers.

The biggest challenge we face in the Trade Sector is to reduce the informality of the economy to increase the efficiency of the logistics and storage chain and to facilitate the rural trade with technological incorporation, as well as to organize the trading chain and transportation infrastructures between the producing zones in rural regions and commercialization centers in urban areas.

In this regard, we have been putting in place structural and legal tools to ensure that the private sector takes the lead in economic development while the government safeguards, gives its supports and incentives to those engaged in doing business and creating jobs in Angola.

It may take some time to overcome these challenges but we are seriously committed in diversifying our production of goods and services to reverse the current economic condition of an oil exporting and food importing country in the coming years.

Angola has the agricultural potential to be self-sufficient in food products and investors can seize this advantage to produce there, supply the domestic market and export to other countries. 

China Investment:What is the trade development plan of the Angolan government? What development goals are you going to achieve? What are the new trade policies?

Joffre Van-Dunem Junior:Our trade development plan for 2018-2022 has four macro goals and 14 specific projects, which among others include the macroeconomic stabilization, boosting of the private sector, the modernization of the logistics chain, fostering the national production and ensuring quality products for the consumers.

Our main goal is not only to attract investment to strengthen the private sector and create a sustainable economic environment but also to harmonize the Angolan economy with that of the other African countries and make the market easily accessible to worldwide investors. 

Angola has in place many newly adopted policies meant to boost the private business activities and to facilitate trade in the country, and among them is the new Private Investment Law, the new Competition Law, the decentralization of Commercial Permits, the creation of the “Single Window For External Trade”, the implementation of the “Asycuda World” system.

To add to what I’ve said above, the government led by President João Lourenço has declared zero tolerance to corruption and bribery as part of our commitment in this process of encouraging domestic and foreign private investors to join the efforts of diversifying the economy and making the country productive and less dependent on crude oil.

China Investment:What is the impact of the current complicated and ever-changing international trade situation on Angola's economic and trade relations? How will the government respond?

Joffre Van-Dunem Junior:Angola still dependents on petroleum exports and because of this fact our economy is exposed to any crisis that could bring down the crude oil price. At the time the global financial crisis happened Angola was in the process of growing its economy and rebuilding its vital infrastructures, which had to be interrupted because, in addition to the global financial crisis we still face the world’s economic uncertainty which prevents the flow of funds to developing economies like ours.

Angola needs to attract a large flow of investment to diversify the economy and boost its national production, at the same time it has to increase the spending in health, education and new infrastructures.

While getting investment funds in crisis scenario is harder, we believe that trade can and should be an important engine of our economy and we are working prudently and constantly to ensure that our economy remains stable as well in order to achieve our goals on macroeconomic program.

In short, the crisis and the uncertainty in world markets directly impacted our economic matrix, and it compelled us to lay the required foundations to diversifying our national economy.

As I said earlier, the crisis has created serious difficulties, but the Angolan Government is very clear about its major challenges, which have more to do with structural issues.

Therefore, I believe that if we continue to focus on the path of the reforms we are pursuing, we will be ensuring the potential that Angola has to overcome the crisis, create a sustainable economy, create jobs and improve people's lives.

I can point out some instruments that are already being implemented with positive results:

The implementation of the macroeconomic stabilization program started in January 2018 allowed a positive fiscal balance of GDP of 2.2% and in the first half of 2019 was also positive by about 1.3%.

In the last 12 months, the inflation rate was 17.25%, which is 1.36% lower than in the same period of 2018 (18.6%).

In addition I can also add that measures have been taken to attract private investment and promote national investment such as the privatization of 195 state owned enterprises, which among others include commercial banks, textile factories, commercial farms, logistics and road transportation, mining and telecommunications.

China Investment:Angola's trade and investment cooperation with China. In what areas does the Angolan government want to trade with China? Attracting Chinese investment?

Joffre Van-Dunem Junior:"Angola has great appreciation for the constructive role China plays as a factor of peace and stability at the international level and for the role on promoting progress and development of other nations worldwide." This statement above from President João Lourenço, expresses the heartfelt feeling on Angola-China cooperation.  

China has been our main trading and investment partner for over a decade and I believe that China should be a source of inspiration for deep economic and social reforms in developing countries.

In terms of trade and investment, Angola is a market open to investments in all sectors, and the country has the advantage of the geographical location with connectivity to other markets in Africa by sea, rail and road.

The Angolan Government has a National Plan to Support Production and Export Promotion (PRODESI) which establishes 54 strategic products for the Angolan economy for both domestic consumption and potential export.

I believe the main areas of investment for business with China should be agriculture, agribusiness, textiles, mining, education, health and infrastructures. Meanwhile, Chinese investors have the opportunity to invest in Angola in all sectors, but the priorities for the country's macroeconomic development are the industrial clusters, logistic hubs, farming and agricultural manufacturing, mining and infrastructures, and taking always into consideration the logic of medium and long term mutual benefits.

⬆Luanda-from-airport

China Investment: In the economic development plan of the Angolan government, what role do Chinese enterprises hope to play?

Joffre Van-Dunem Junior:As I said before, Angola offers great opportunities, with many mineral resources, strong growth potential of non-oil sectors such as agriculture, fisheries, tourism and construction.

We have a young population. We have a stable institutional framework and a government committed to the reforms of a thriving and competitive business environment.

In order to attract investment, specifically from China, we need to identify who are the investors in order to understand their needs and the areas they are interested in.

The government has taken tangible steps to make it clear to the Chinese business community that the foundations for transparency, fair competition and legal protection to make safe investments in Angola are in place.

⬆Informal market luanda

China Investment: What are the expectations of the Angolan government in the future trade and investment cooperation between the two countries?

Joffre Van-Dunem Junior:China has funded significant infrastructure projects in Angola in the last decade and now we want to see the focus of funding shift to Chinese direct investment to other sectors too.

We look forward to receiving investments that transfer technology and know-how to improve our processes and create jobs for our young people.

Therefore, the generation of quality employment, added value to locally produced goods and local wealth creation are among the expectations we wish to see fulfilled with the contribution of Chinese investors and entrepreneurs.

So, I hope that Chinese entrepreneurs can invest and do big business in Angola at win-win model and turn our country into a platform for Chinese investment in Africa.