Angolan President dos Santos on State Visit to Israel
July 05, 05 by Albert Robinson
Angolan President Jose Eduardo dos Santos arrives in Israel today (Tuesday) for the first ever visit to Israel by the country's head of state. Economic co-operation, the diamond trade, arms sales and increased oil supply are expected to be the main topics to be discussed during the three-day visit.
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President dos Santos
to Meet Israeli PM Sharon
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The President is expected to hold meetings with Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, President Moshe Katsav and Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom. Angolan embassy officials were unable to confirm details of the visit.
A newspaper ad, apparently published by Angola, said the African country earned $764 million last year from the sale of seven million carats of rough diamonds – its second major foreign currency earner after oil. Angola forecasts an increase in its diamond exports to 15 million carats annually and to earn $5 billion from the trade.
It says that 90 percent of its diamonds are gem quality while the rest are industrial diamonds.
Angola sells 15,000 barrels of oil a day to Israel and that figure “is expected to grow substantially in the near future”. Angola earned $8 billion from the sale of 246 million barrels of oil last year.
The announcement in Ha'aretz, Israel's main quality daily broadsheet, said that the direct sale of diamonds to the world's main centers was Angola's "new strategy aimed at boosting the country's economic growth" which it forecasts this year will be 16 percent.
Israeli diamantaires are heavily involved in Angola's rough diamond industry. In April, the country agreed to sell the entire production of the Catoca mine to Sunland, a company established in Angola by Israeli rough diamond trader Dan Gertler.
The value of the deal was estimated at $250-$300 million annually, and according to Gertler the entire production will be shipped to Israel where it will be marketed.
Meanwhile, diamond magnate Lev Leviev signed a deal last year with SODIAM, the Angolan diamond marketing organization, to market its rough stones from Israel.
