LUANDA : Oman and Angola signed five agreements and eight memoranda of understanding on Friday, expanding cooperation across energy, investment, aviation, defence and other sectors during the State Visit of His Majesty Sultan Haitham bin Tarik to the African country.

His Majesty Sultan Haitham and Angolan President João Lourenço witnessed the exchange of the agreements at the Presidential Palace in Luanda, according to the Oman News Agency.

The agreements included a mutual visa exemption for holders of diplomatic, special and service passports, as well as deals covering technical cooperation between the two governments and the avoidance of double taxation on income and prevention of tax evasion.

The two sides also signed agreements on air transport and key provisions related to logistics services and the defence industry in Angola.

The memoranda of understanding covered political consultations, diplomatic studies and training, investment promotion, agriculture and livestock.

An MoU was also signed between the Oman Chamber of Commerce and Industry and its Angolan counterpart to strengthen private-sector and commercial links.

Energy featured prominently among the agreements, with the two sides exploring a potential partnership in Angola’s upstream, midstream and downstream sectors.

The package also includes plans to develop a 500-megawatt renewable energy project in Angola equipped with a battery energy storage system (BESS) under an Independent Power Producer model.

Another area of potential cooperation covers oilfield services and technologies.

The two countries also signed an executive programme for a technical cooperation agreement and a contract for the rehabilitation, modernisation and expansion of a water distribution network in Angola’s Lunda province.

The agreements follow talks between His Majesty Sultan Haitham and Lourenço aimed at expanding economic and investment relations between Oman and Angola. His Majesty earlier said agreements and MoUs associated with the visit were valued at more than $1.5 billion, and that the two countries aimed to double bilateral trade in the coming years.

For all the latest news from Oman and GCC, follow us on Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn, like us on Facebook and subscribe to our YouTube page, which is updated daily.