ALROSA President Sergey Ivanov recently visited the Republic of Angola with two major points on his itinerary: Ivanov attended the inauguration ceremony of the new President of Angola; he also held a working meeting with the management of Endiama E. P., Angola’s national diamond company.

In the recently held parliamentary elections in Angola, João Lourenço was proclaimed the President.  Lourenço is the leader of the People’s Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA), which won the elections. The inauguration ceremony to install João Lourenço as President was held on September 26 in the Angolan capital Luanda.

ALROSA President Sergey Ivanov commented: “In his inaugural speech, João Lourenço drew particular attention to the need to attract foreign investment to Angola, create conditions for the dynamic development of the country’s economy. Our Company, which has been working in Angola for many years, welcomes these tendencies and is interested in further developing bilateral cooperation with our Angolan partners. We wish João Lourenço success in his new position and will do our best to strengthen the mutually beneficial economic ties between Russia and Angola.”

Ivanov also met Antonio Carlos Sumbula, the head of the Angola’s national diamond mining company ENDIAMA E.P. “They discussed measures aimed at the improvement of business performance and growth of financial results of the Catoca Ltd. Mining Co. that is engaged in diamond mining in Lunda Sul province,” ALROSA stated summarising the interaction between the two. “Sergey Ivanov and Antonio Carlos Sumbula also discussed the preparation of a feasibility study of the project for the joint development of the new diamond deposit Luele, the largest of the kimberlite pipes discovered worldwide over the past 60 years.”

ALROSA, which currently holds a 32.8% share in the authorised capital, is also a co-founder of Catoca Ltd. Mining Co. By the end of the year, ALROSA intends to increase its shareholding to 41%. Furthermore, through Catoca, ALROSA also plans to participate in the development of the Luaxe concession (the Luele pipe). Since 2014, ALROSA and Endiama E.P. have also been carrying out geological exploration in Angola as part of a joint venture.