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Angola Foreign Assistance
Since 1980 foreign assistance grants have increased
because of
Angola's agricultural crisis and the drop in oil export
earnings.
In 1984 gross official development assistance from
multilateral
institutions rose to US$33 million, nearly double the
figure for
1979 (see
table 7, Appendix A). Foreign aid was likely to
increase
in the late 1980s as a result of Angola's accession to the
Lomé
Convention (see Glossary) in April 1985, making the
country
eligible for funding under the Lomé III Agreement, which
was to
remain in effect until 1990.
Because of the mid-1980s crisis in local agricultural
production, food imports were essential to feed the
population, and
Angola had to appeal for more than US$100 million in food
aid.
Nevertheless, such aid did not meet food requirements, and
in 1986
the country experienced a cereal shortfall of more than
100,000
tons. In addition, Angola also appealed for US$21 million
in
nonfood aid in 1987, most of which was earmarked for
relief and
survival items.
Most direct aid was provided by Western organizations,
and
Angola was trying to improve its relations with several
individual
Western countries to negotiate for further assistance. In
addition
to assistance provided by the United Nations (UN) World
Food
Programme (WFP), in the late 1980s the EEC was providing
assistance
through the Lomé III Agreement as well as through the
European
Investment Bank. Furthermore, Angola regularly received
aid from
Sweden for various small-scale development projects, and
France
provided some assistance tied to the purchase of French
equipment.
Angola has improved relations with the Federal Republic of
Germany
(West Germany) and succeeded in reaching an agreement in
1987 with
that country for 3,600 tons of food aid. Likewise,
Portugal agreed
in 1987 to provide US$140 million in credits toward the
recovery of
Angolan companies hurt by the exodus of Portuguese
settlers after
independence and to cooperate in some joint economic
ventures with
the Angolan government.
Angola also received significant assistance from the
Soviet
Union and East European nations. In 1977 Angola and the
Soviet
Union established an intergovernmental commission for
technical,
scientific, and trade cooperation. Projects addressed by
this
commission have included the design of a hydroelectric
station,
rural electrification, assistance in the petroleum and
fishing
industries, the supply of industrial equipment and
physicians, and
the training of Angolan technicians. The commission
agreement was
to run to the year 2000 and included plans for Soviet
technical
assistance in the petroleum industry, in light industry,
and in
livestock production. Angola has similar technical
assistance
agreements with Hungary (for the pharmaceutical and
automobile
industries), with Yugoslavia (for the petroleum industry
and for
agriculture), and with Bulgaria (for urban planning).
Yugoslavia
also built a large department store in Luanda to market
Yugoslav-made goods, and trade between the countries has
increased.
And in October 1986, the government signed a cooperation
agreement
with the Council for Mutual Economic Assistance (Comecon
or CMEA),
the common market for the Soviet Union, its Eastern Europe
allies,
and a few other countries. Under Comecon a joint
commission on
cooperation was to be established to determine future
forms of
cooperation and assistance between the nations.
Data as of February 1989
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