UK-Angola Investment Forum: Key Highlights from Minister McNeill’s Opening Address

As I survey this room, I am surrounded by individuals who have devoted years to forging connections between our nations. These are people who recognise that robust partnerships are built on trust, shared ambitions, and a commitment to long-term goals.

Like many of you, I have held a deep concern for Africa for many years. I vividly recall the optimism and collective determination of 2005 when governments, charitable organisations, activists, and citizens united to advocate for the significance of Africa’s future to us all. This effort culminated at Gleneagles, where world leaders made ambitious pledges to alleviate debt, combat diseases such as HIV, increase school enrollment, and promote good governance.

At its core, this initiative was about people, opportunities, and the conviction that one’s birthplace should not dictate one’s potential. These values are as crucial today as they were back then. However, the world and Africa itself have evolved, and few countries exemplify this transformation better than Angola.

Embracing New Challenges and Opportunities

New challenges have emerged alongside remarkable opportunities. As the newly appointed Minister for Africa, I aspire to foster that same spirit of partnership and shared purpose in this role, championing African solutions to African challenges, and ensuring that Africa’s incredible resources benefit the people and communities living on the continent.

Last year, Angola celebrated fifty years of independence—a milestone that encourages reflection not only on the progress a nation has made but also on its future aspirations. Throughout these fifty years, Angola has encountered substantial challenges, the effects of past conflicts still reverberating today. Yet, when I gaze upon Angola, I see a nation that is future-focused.

Angola is actively opening its economy, drawing in investments, and generating new prospects beyond the oil sector, encompassing areas such as agriculture, energy, mining, and infrastructure. This is why the partnership between the UK and Angola is of great significance.

Mutual Contributions to Shared Goals

This partnership is vital not because one nation possesses all the solutions while the other is merely seeking answers. Rather, both countries bring essential contributions to the table. The United Kingdom offers expertise in finance, infrastructure, technology, and innovation, while Angola contributes talent, resources, ambition, and a clear vision for economic transformation.

When these strengths converge, we can accomplish far more than either of us could independently. The benefits of our collaboration are already evident. We witness it in infrastructure projects backed by UK knowledge and finance; in hospitals, roads, electricity networks, and flood defences that are currently benefiting communities and creating opportunities for future generations.

We also observe the positive impact of organisations such as HALO Trust and the Mines Advisory Group, whose demining efforts are enabling families to safely return to their land and allowing farmers to cultivate their crops without fear. Furthermore, we see initiatives that link communities, markets, and investments across the region.

Connecting People to Opportunities

The Lobito Corridor serves as a prime example. While it entails railways and transportation, the true value of infrastructure lies in its ability to connect individuals to opportunities, linking communities to markets, generating new jobs, and unlocking economic potential, thereby fostering conditions conducive to long-term growth across the region.

This raises a pivotal question for all of us gathered here today: How can we expedite the transformation of opportunities into sustainable prosperity? How do we ensure that growth is measured not merely in statistics, but in the lives it enhances? And how can we sustain a partnership between Angola and the UK that yields benefits for generations to come?

Collaborative Solutions for a Shared Future

These are questions that neither of our nations can resolve in isolation, but together, we possess the ability to find answers. There exists an Angolan proverb that states: “To be sure that your friend is a friend, you must journey with him—travel with him day and night, go with him near and far.” The United Kingdom is honoured to accompany Angola on this journey—day and night, near and far, today, tomorrow, and for years to come.

Thank you very much.