Angola mulls dumping Russia as arms supplier

Lenin Ndebele - Angola is keen on moving away from Russian military equipment, in favour of United States-manufactured arms, as the nation forges stronger ties with the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (Nato), the country's president said.

Speaking to Voice Of America (VOA), in a televised Portuguese language interview, President João Lourenço said he would like the US to be part of Angola's military equipment programme.

"We, the government of Angola, would like to invite the US to participate in our military equipment programme. As you know, until today, the Armed Forces of Angola have the so-called Soviet technique," he said.

In 2015, Russia started exporting arms to Angola - and, of note, were fighter aircraft and combat helicopters.

Angola is currently the fourth-biggest market for Russian arms, according to statistics from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute.

Algeria, Egypt and Sudan are the only African countries buying more from Russia.

UKRAINE

The proposition by Lourenço, who is creating a stronger bond with the US, would go against his 2019 plan to build factories to manufacture Russian weapons.

When Lourenço met Russia's President Vladimir Putin in Russia, in April 2019, he said strengthening ties with Angola would provide access to the country's natural resources, such as diamonds and fisheries.

He also spoke about the possibility of cooperating in space exploration.

For Lourenço, building Russian arms factories was going to create jobs for locals.

With Russia waging war in Ukraine, its relations with African countries have come under the spotlight.

Lourenço’s bold move to say he wants to align himself with Nato betrays Russia.

"We understand that the time has come to move to rearm the FAA [Forças Armadas Angolanas] with Nato equipment, and we consider the US the ideal way to achieve this transition," he added.

From 2013-2020, Russia, China, Lithuania, Belarus and Italy were the top four suppliers of military equipment to Angola.

South Africa was the only African country to export arms to Angola during that period, according to Statista, an online platform specialising in market and consumer data.

MILITARY ALLIANCE

Already, the US Army Southern European Task Force, in Africa, is running some exercises with the FAA.

In November, the US Marine Corps' general Michael Langley visited Angola and held meetings with Lourenço, general Joao Ernesto dos Santos, the minister of national defence and homeland veterans, and general Egidio de Sousa e Santos, the chief of general staff, to discuss shared security interests and future areas for potential cooperation.

Before Langley's visit, the United States ship, Hershel "Woody" Williams, arrived on Angolan shores for maritime security operations with the Angolan Navy. – News24