On the afternoon of March 16, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh had a phone conversation with the President of the Republic of Angola João Manuel Gonçalves Lourenço, exchanging views on Vietnam-Angola bilateral relations and the international situation of common concern.
The Prime Minister expressed deep concern about the developments of the conflict in the Middle East today, as well as the serious impacts on the world economy, including Vietnam.
Faced with the above situation, the Prime Minister believes that for countries outside the conflict zone but still suffering negative impacts such as Vietnam and Angola, it is even more necessary to unite to create strength and cooperate to create resources to overcome common difficulties and challenges.
In that spirit and with the foundation of friendly, traditional relations, brotherly solidarity, equal and reliable partnership, the Prime Minister requested Angola to provide additional support in the supply of crude oil and gas to Vietnam, and coordinate to promote the early implementation of the Memorandum of Understanding on cooperation in the oil and gas sector between Vietnam Oil and Gas Exploration and Production Corporation (PVEP) and Angola Oil and Gas Exploration and Production Company (Sonangol E&P), as well as the oil and gas exploitation activities of Xuan Thien Group.
Regarding bilateral relations, the Prime Minister proposed that the two countries continue to closely coordinate to effectively implement the commitments and agreements reached during the State visit to Angola by President Luong Cuong in August 2025, especially in areas with strengths such as trade, investment, agriculture, mining and energy security, and soon bring bilateral trade turnover to 1 billion USD in the near future, in the spirit of the Joint Statement on the development orientation of Vietnam - Angola relations in the new period.
The Prime Minister also proposed that the two sides promote the implementation of existing cooperation mechanisms such as the Intergovernmental Committee, Political Consultations between the two Ministries of Foreign Affairs and soon complete negotiations towards signing the Agreement on Investment Promotion and Protection and the Agreement on Avoidance of Double Taxation.
The Prime Minister wished Angola, with its prestige and position in the African Union (AU), to actively support Vietnam in strengthening substantive relations with the AU, especially in priority areas in the Vision 2063 agenda such as peacekeeping, agriculture, health, education, digital transformation, and affirmed that Vietnam is ready to support Angola in promoting relations with ASEAN countries.
President of the Republic of Angola João Manuel Gonçalves Lourenço affirmed that he always appreciates the good friendly cooperative relations with Vietnam, and is ready to listen and promote cooperation opportunities between the two economies.
The President of Angola expressed his agreement with the Prime Minister's assessment of the current conflict situation in the Middle East, saying that affected countries need to exchange and coordinate to minimize the negative impacts caused by the conflict.
Sharing the difficulties in ensuring Vietnam's energy security in the above context, the President of Angola agreed to promote energy cooperation between the two countries in the coming time as proposed by the Prime Minister.
