Vucic and Angola's president sign ten agreements
After 49 years, Angolan President Lourenco visited Belgrade, where he and Vucic exchanged their countries' highest honours and signed ten bilateral agreements.
- Angolan President Joao Lourenco visited Belgrade for the first time in 49 years.
- He and Serbia's president signed ten bilateral documents, ranging from taxation and investment to air traffic.
- Vucic awarded Lourenco the Order of the Republic of Serbia, while Lourenco gave him the Order of Agostinho Neto.
- The two sides announced plans for a Belgrade to Luanda air route.
Angolan President Joao Manuel Goncalves Lourenco was received with full state honours at the Palace of Serbia on Tuesday, 9 June, in the first visit by an Angolan head of state to Belgrade in 49 years, since 1977. His host, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic, laid on a ceremonial welcome with a red carpet, both national anthems and a guard of honour, after which the two leaders held one-on-one talks before continuing in an expanded format with their delegations.
Those talks produced a tangible outcome: ten bilateral documents. They include an agreement on the avoidance of double taxation, an agreement on the mutual protection and promotion of investment and an air traffic agreement, alongside deals covering agriculture, environmental protection, information and communication technology, and postal services. A cooperation memorandum was also signed between the Tanjug agency and Angola’s national news agency, extending the partnership into the media field.
What do the ten signed agreements deliver?
The framework Belgrade and Luanda set out is far from declarative. The double-taxation and investment-protection agreements form the legal scaffolding without which any serious economic cooperation struggles to begin, because they give companies the predictability and security they need to invest. During earlier exchanges Vucic has repeatedly stressed that the political ties between Serbia and Angola run well ahead of their economic ones, and this package was designed precisely to close that gap.
A direct air route between Belgrade and Luanda drew particular attention. Linking two capitals thousands of kilometres apart, it would open the door to both business and tourist contacts. Lourenco pointed to the historical roots of the relationship. “Our friendship dates back to the time when we were freeing ourselves from the Portuguese coloniser,” the Angolan president said, tying today’s cooperation to the former Yugoslavia’s support for liberation movements across Africa.
Why the exchange of decorations matters
The high point of the protocol was the exchange of each country’s top state honours. Vucic awarded Lourenco the Order of the Republic of Serbia on a sash, the highest decoration the Serbian state confers on a foreign statesman, while the Angolan president handed his counterpart the Order of Agostinho Neto, named after independent Angola’s first president. An exchange of orders at this level is not an everyday event, and it signals that both sides treat the relationship as strategic.
In the political part of the talks, Vucic underlined that Angola consistently supports Serbia’s territorial integrity and sovereignty, while Serbia offers full backing for Angola’s interests on the international stage. “Angola can always count on Serbia, which is a great friend of Africa, and of Angola in particular,” Vucic said. For Belgrade, which has spent years seeking allies beyond the narrow European frame, the support of one of Africa’s leading economies on the Kosovo question carries real diplomatic weight. Do you think the ten signed agreements will genuinely jump-start economic cooperation between Serbia and Angola?
