Official Visit to Angola

The Director General of Casa África, Luis Padrón, accompanied by the head of the organisation’s department of ​​culture and education, Juan Jaime, is currently in the Angolan capital holding various meetings with the country’s ministers and authorities to establish and consolidate ties enabling collaboration and mutual understanding.

This whole schedule of meetings has been possible thanks to the invaluable collaboration of Julia Alicia Olmo y Romero, Spanish ambassador to Angola who has also accompanied Casa África during this visit to the country.

One of the issues which Padrón addressed directly with the Secretary of State and with the Minister of Tourism, Paulino Domingos Baptista, was the next Investour, the annual Forum for Tourism Investment and Business in Africa which will, as usual, be held in January at the headquarters of Infecar in Madrid. Organised within the framework of FITUR, this platform provides African companies with the opportunity to discuss new business and cooperation opportunities with businesses from the international tourism industry. The initiative is promoted by the World Tourism Organization, FITUR and Casa África in order to promote sustainable tourism in Africa by providing a platform to facilitate dialogue on new business and cooperation opportunities between African tourism representatives and potential international investors.

Another of the matters discussed and very well received by the Minister of Culture, Carolina Cerqueira, was the next Vis a Vis, the professional meeting between Spanish cultural promoters and African musicians which Casa África has been holding in Africa for seven years. It has two objectives: firstly, to ensure greater presence of African music on Spanish stages by means of the tour the winning groups make to festivals participating in the programme, and secondly, to generate a cultural industry in Africa.
Given the great welcome and excitement that the country has shown the project, Vis a Vis 2017 will take place in Luanda, where the minister has already allocated a space where it will be held.

This visit’s intense agenda of meetings continues this afternoon, when the Director General of Casa África will meet with the Minister of Finance. Also, the head of the cultural department of Casa África​​ will hold a meeting with the director of cultural exchange of the Ministry of Culture to outline the plans for Vis a Vis and for the dissemination of Angolan culture in Spain. Casa África is making itself available for this latter task following the minister’s request that it be one of the responsible institutions.

Other meetings to be held during this visit have been agreed with the Secretary of State for Cooperation, Maria Angela Teixeira Braganza and the secretary general of the Angolan Copyright Society, Lopito Feijó.