LUANDA, June 2 (Xinhua) -- The Angola-China Chamber of Commerce (ACCC) signed a partnership agreement here on Friday with Angola's tourism authorities and a local bank to promote the tourism sector in the African country.
Under the deal, Sol Bank would help facilitate the acquisition of foreign exchange to back Angolans who wish to do business in China and promote national tourism, said Coutinho Nobre Miguel, the president of Sol Bank, a privately-owned bank based in Luanda.
The agreement also aims to promote trade relations between Angola and China, taking into account the decline in business activity as Angola is currently undergoing economic and financial crises, Miguel told reporters.
Arnaldo Calado, chairman of the Angola-China Chamber of Commerce, said the agreement will strengthen tourism in Angola, stressing the Chinese have vast experience in the tourism sector and can easily adapt to the realities of other peoples, whether in the field of business or leisure.
The Angola-China Chamber of Commerce currently has 800 Angolan and 200 Chinese members and intends to expand to 50,000 members in the coming years.
Although the long-lasting civil war ended in 2012 in Angola, the country's tourism sector is currently facing tough challenges, ranging from difficult visa procedures and high prices for hotel rooms to yellow fever outbreaks and street crime, according to media reports.
In December last year, Angolan State Minister for Economic and Social Development Manuel Nunes Junior said that Angola was open to establishing international partnerships to provide competitive and better tourism products to attract more tourists from around the world.
He also said that his country would work on simplifying visa procedures for international visitors.
