NEW DELHI: As Angola’s President João Manuel Gonçalves Lourenço wrapped up his landmark visit to India in May 2025, the optics of the bilateral engagement were clear: this was no ordinary diplomatic handshake—it was a signal of a strategic embrace. An embrace between two Global South nations that aspire to recalibrate international relations in an increasingly multipolar world. But more importantly, it is an alignment of practical partnerships and visionary aspirations, most notably Angola’s alignment with the African Union’s Agenda 2063 and India’s rise as a credible partner for African transformation.
What makes this partnership particularly compelling is that it transcends transactional diplomacy and engages directly with the core pillars of Agenda 2063: industrialization, peace and security, food security, healthcare, technological transformation, cultural identity, and Africa’s global influence.
Energy Diplomacy and the African Industrial Dream
Angola, Africa’s second-largest oil producer after Nigeria, exported over 393.4 million barrels of crude oil in 2024. India, with its ever-growing energy needs, emerged as one of its top importers, sourcing more than 10% of Angola’s total exports. But the India-Angola energy alliance is no longer about barrels alone. New agreements envisage Indian investments in refining, downstream industries, and clean energy infrastructure in Angola—a direct nod to Agenda 2063’s call for resource-driven industrialization.
India is aiding Angola not just in extracting oil but in adding value domestically. The establishment of joint research, clean-tech transfer, and petrochemical facilities signifies a shift from Africa being a raw material warehouse to becoming a refined industrial actor. This is precisely the economic transformation that Agenda 2063 envisions. Compared to past models of Western extraction-led investments, India’s value-chain approach offers a more sustainable and locally empowering model—one that resonates across the continent.
Defense Cooperation: Silencing the Guns with Strategy
Security and sovereignty are prerequisites for development. In this vein, India’s extension of a $200 million line of credit to Angola for defense procurement is significant. This credit will help modernize Angola’s military, much of which still relies on Soviet-era equipment.
Moreover, India’s ITEC (Indian Technical and Economic Cooperation) programme has expanded to include defense capacity-building, cybersecurity training, and coastal security modules. These programs not only strengthen Angola’s national security but align with Agenda 2063’s flagship objective: “Silencing the Guns by 2020”, which remains aspirational and urgent in many African nations. As African states seek alternatives to NATO and Chinese defense infrastructure, India’s affordable and training-centric model offers a non-aligned solution rooted in shared post-colonial legacies.
Feeding the Future: Agricultural Cooperation for Food Security
India’s partnership with Angola in agriculture is a lesson in inclusive and sustainable development. Angola, with 57% of its land arable but only 10% under cultivation, has long struggled with food imports despite having natural resources to feed itself.
India has stepped in with mechanized farming tools, irrigation equipment, seed banks, and agri-extension services, modeled on its Green Revolution experience. These interventions reflect Agenda 2063’s food security vision and aim to reverse the continent’s $43 billion annual food import bill. India’s agricultural support also integrates climate-resilient methods, addressing both productivity and sustainability—a model for other African nations. Notably, this South-South agricultural synergy contrasts with top-down donor models that often disregard local contexts.
Healthcare: Ayurveda Meets Africa’s Public Health Challenge
India’s pharmaceutical sector, known as the “pharmacy of the world,” is extending its reach to Angola by providing affordable medicines, mobile health units, and rural clinics. Angola has expressed interest in adopting India’s Jan Aushadhi model—low-cost generic medicine outlets in public hospitals.
Additionally, an MoU on Ayurveda and traditional medicine opens new vistas in public health. With Angola’s health infrastructure still recovering from decades of conflict, these partnerships help deliver Agenda 2063’s goal of “Healthy and well-nourished citizens.” India’s telemedicine innovations—already successful in Ethiopia and Rwanda—are also slated for Angola, bridging doctor-patient gaps through technology. The fusion of Ayurveda and allopathy offers culturally attuned healthcare alternatives, something rarely offered by Western pharmaceutical aid.
Digital Leapfrogging: The Power of DPI
Perhaps the most transformational offering from India is its Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI). From Aadhaar (digital ID) to UPI (mobile payments) and DigiLocker (cloud storage), India has built an ecosystem that lifted over 400 million people out of financial exclusion within a decade.
Angola, with internet penetration still under 35%, sees potential in replicating this model. The planned pilot deployment of India’s Modular DPI Stack in Angola could fast-track e-governance, improve welfare delivery, and formalize its large informal economy. This aligns with Agenda 2063’s digital transformation pillar, reinforcing that technology is not a luxury but a necessity in leapfrogging development stages. India’s DPI has become a global model and could be a game-changer for Lusophone African nations transitioning to digital economies.
Satellite Sovereignty: Africa in Orbit
Angola’s space ambitions took off with its satellite AngoSat-2 (in partnership with Russia), but sustaining satellite infrastructure is capital-intensive. India, with its low-cost space technology and proven ISRO (Indian Space Research Organisation) track record, offers Angola an affordable alternative.
India has already offered joint satellite development, training, and launch services to Angola. This doesn’t just enhance Angola’s capacity in weather prediction, telecom, and surveillance—it promotes the African Union’s aspiration to be a global player in science and space technology under Agenda 2063. Moreover, it aligns with India’s space cooperation efforts in Africa under the Pan-African e-Network and demonstrates shared ambitions for technological sovereignty.
Cultural and Diaspora Diplomacy: Unity in Diversity
Cultural cooperation between India and Angola taps into soft power diplomacy. With over 8,000 Indians in Angola, many in healthcare and technical sectors, the diaspora serves as a living bridge between the two nations.
Joint cultural festivals, language exchange programs, and student scholarships are in the pipeline. This people-to-people engagement reflects the Agenda 2063 emphasis on cultural renaissance and promotes mutual identity recognition, something often overshadowed in state-level interactions. It also reflects a shift from elite diplomacy to people-centric diplomacy, which is gaining traction across Global South platforms like IBSA and BRICS+.
Global Governance and South-South Solidarity
Angola’s endorsement of India’s permanent seat at the UN Security Council and India’s support for African voices at global fora like the G20 and BRICS+ represent a strategic convergence on global governance reform. This is not just diplomacy -it is a recalibration of global institutions long dominated by the West.
Both countries advocate for a multipolar world with equitable representation. In this way, their partnership becomes a microcosm of Agenda 2063’s call for “Africa as an influential global player and partner.” It also aligns with NAM’s (Non-Aligned Movement) evolving agenda to bring meaningful representation to the Global South in multilateral institutions.
A Statesman’s Vision: Lourenço’s Strategic Message
Angola’s President João Lourenço, addressing the media in New Delhi, remarked:
“Both our nations combined can help establish a significantly expanded foundation for business opportunities. I have come to India to convey a message of admiration and friendship that will endure. I have also come with the intention of showcasing a new vision for the relations between our countries.”
His remarks underscored not only the economic aspirations but also the long-term civilizational rapport between Angola and India. By framing the visit as a messenger of enduring friendship and strategic opportunity, Lourenço cast the bilateral relationship in a forward-looking light, emblematic of the Agenda 2063 vision.
He also made a strong diplomatic appeal that elevated the visit’s global resonance:
“We stand in solidarity with the Palestinian people and call for the establishment of the State of Palestine.”
This statement, while not directly linked to India-Angola bilateral matters, reflects a broader alignment with the Global South’s ethical diplomacy. It places Angola firmly within the constellation of countries demanding equitable global justice, much like India’s historic support for Palestine at the UN and its balancing act in West Asia.
A Partnership for the People, by the People
India’s engagement with Angola is not about aid, but capacity, choice, and dignity. It is rooted in mutual development goals, not donor-recipient hierarchies. For Africa, India offers a development model without conditionalities, with adaptability and respect. For India, Angola is a gateway to Africa’s rising geopolitical relevance.
As Africa charts its future through Agenda 2063, the India-Angola strategic embrace offers a roadmap—one that is inclusive, developmental, and deeply rooted in the ethos of the Global South. This partnership is more than the sum of its MoUs; it is the embodiment of a shared vision for sovereignty, self-reliance, and shared prosperity.
This is the future of international cooperation—not imposed, but inspired.
– Dr. Shahid Siddiqui; Follow via X @shahidsiddiqui
