República de Angola Edition 05 · 2026 February – August 2026

ANGOLA NOS EUA

EDIÇÃO 05 · 2026

Boletim Informativo da Embaixada da República de Angola nos Estados Unidos da América
Newsletter of the Embassy of the Republic of Angola in the United States of America

Ambassador Agostinho Van-Dúnem with Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
Ambassador Agostinho Van-Dúnem with Secretary of State Marco Rubio.O Embaixador Agostinho Van-Dúnem com o Secretário de Estado Marco Rubio.

CRITICAL MINERALS MINISTERIAL · WASHINGTON, D.C.

A Seat at the Table

Um lugar à mesa

Angola joins the first Critical Minerals Ministerial — and the conversation that will decide how the world's supply chains are rebuilt.

February – August 2026  ·  Fevereiro – Agosto de 2026
Quarterly  ·  Trimestral

The African Landing MemorialThe African Landing Memorial24 APRIL Angola & OhioAngola & OhioJUNE Climate, Water & the Giant SableClimate, Water & the Giant SableMARCH African Diplomatic CorpsAfrican Diplomatic Corps29 JULY

In This Edition  ·  Nesta Edição

Agostinho Van-Dúnem
Agostinho Van-DúnemAmbassador of the Republic of Angola to the United States of America

A Message from the Ambassador

Mensagem do Embaixador

Dear readers,

The months covered by this edition have carried Angola into rooms that matter. In February, our country sat at the first Critical Minerals Ministerial in Washington, alongside ministers and delegations from every continent, to help shape the principles by which the world will build the supply chains of the next generation. In March, our Minister of Environment brought to the United States Congress the case for conservation as a shared responsibility. In June, delegations from Angola and the State of Ohio sat down in Luanda to turn goodwill into commerce. These are not ceremonial occasions. They are the ordinary, patient work of economic diplomacy.

But one date in this edition asks something different of us. On 24 April, at Fort Monroe in Virginia, a memorial was dedicated at the exact stretch of shoreline where, in 1619, the first Africans recorded in English North America were brought ashore. They had been taken from a ship that sailed out of the Port of Luanda. Standing there, with the water in front of us and Angolan granite set into the ground beneath our feet, it is impossible not to understand that the relationship between Angola and the United States did not begin with a treaty. It began with a crossing, and with people who survived it.

That is why this Embassy does more than negotiate. It receives. Over these months our house on 16th Street has hosted a coffee festival, a wedding, a farewell to a colleague who served our community in New York for years, and countless conversations with Angolans who simply wanted to be heard. A mission is measured by both kinds of work.

To the Angolan community resident in the United States, Canada, Mexico and the countries of our regional coverage: this newsletter is yours, and from this edition it reaches you every month. Read it, share it, and tell us what is missing from it. And to our American friends and partners — thank you for the seriousness with which you have engaged with Angola over these months.

With my very best regards,
Agostinho Van-Dúnem
Ambassador of the Republic of Angola to the United States of America

IN MEMORIAM

Ambassador Manuel Domingos Augusto

Ambassador Manuel Domingos Augusto

2 September 1957 — 5 June 2026

The Embassy of the Republic of Angola in the United States learned with profound sorrow of the death of His Excellency Ambassador Manuel Domingos Augusto, former Minister of External Relations, who died in Luanda on 5 June 2026, aged 68.

Ambassador Augusto served as Angola's Minister of External Relations from 2017 to 2020, and represented the Republic as Ambassador to Ethiopia and to Zambia. At the time of his death he served as secretary for international relations of the MPLA. His career spanned the greater part of Angola's life as an independent state, and much of the architecture of Angolan diplomacy as it stands today passed through his hands.

Those who worked with him remember a diplomat of unusual patience — a man who understood that the work of representing a country is done slowly, in rooms where nothing appears to happen, and that the results belong to the nation rather than to the person who obtained them.

This Mission opened a book of condolences at the Chancery in Washington. Members of the diplomatic corps, the Angolan community and friends of Angola came to sign it, before his portrait and the flags of the two countries.

The Embassy extends its condolences to his wife, his children and his family, to the Ministry of External Relations, and to all who served alongside him.

May he rest in peace.

The book of condolences, open for signature.
With Ambassador Agostinho Van-Dúnem.

Embassy of Angola · Institutional Communication and Press Service

01ECONOMIC DIPLOMACY 4 February 2026 · Washington, D.C.

Angola Takes a Seat at the Critical Minerals Table

Angola participa na Reunião Ministerial sobre Minerais Críticos

At the first Critical Minerals Ministerial, the United States proposed a common rulebook for the materials the energy transition runs on. Angola was in the room.

Angola Takes a Seat at the Critical Minerals Table
Vice-President J. D. Vance opens the first Critical Minerals Ministerial before delegations from more than sixty countries and international organisations.O Vice-Presidente J. D. Vance abre a primeira Reunião Ministerial sobre Minerais Críticos, perante delegações de dezenas de países e organizações internacionais.

Angola took part in February in the first Critical Minerals Ministerial, held in Washington at the initiative of the United States Government and opened by Vice-President J. D. Vance.

The United States used the meeting to propose a Framework Agreement on Critical Minerals — common principles for responsible investment, technological cooperation and supply-chain resilience. For producing countries the significance is plain: the terms on which these minerals are financed, extracted and traded are being written now, and the countries at the table will help write them.

Angola was represented by Ambassador Agostinho Van-Dúnem, who called the Ministerial a significant milestone in the strengthening of Angolan economic diplomacy. The country's participation forms part of the IGED–USG Memorandum of Understanding for Scientific Cooperation in Earth Sciences.

Em português

Angola participou, em Fevereiro, na primeira Reunião Ministerial sobre Minerais Críticos, em Washington, D.C., aberta pelo Vice-Presidente J. D. Vance. Os Estados Unidos propuseram a criação de um Acordo-Quadro sobre Minerais Críticos.

Angola esteve representada pelo Embaixador Agostinho Van-Dúnem, que considera a Reunião um marco relevante no reforço da diplomacia económica angolana.

Ambassador Van-Dúnem at the Angola seat during the plenary session.
The Ambassador at the Ministerial.
Vice-President J. D. Vance opens the Ministerial.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio chairs the United States delegation.
Heads of delegation on the margins of the meeting.
Conversations between delegations before the session.
The flags of the participating countries.
The official photograph of heads of delegation.

Press Release No. 103 · Institutional Communication and Press Service

02MEMORY & HERITAGE 24 April 2026 · Fort Monroe, Hampton, Virginia

Where the Crossing Ended

Onde a travessia terminou

A memorial is dedicated on the shoreline where the first Africans recorded in English North America came ashore in 1619. They had sailed from Luanda.

Where the Crossing Ended
Ambassador Agostinho Van-Dúnem addresses the ceremony at Fort Monroe. Behind him, a tanker crosses the same water the ships came over in 1619.O Embaixador Agostinho Van-Dúnem discursa na cerimónia em Fort Monroe. Atrás de si, um navio atravessa as mesmas águas por onde chegaram os navios de 1619.

There are places where history is argued about, and places where it simply happened. Point Comfort, at the tip of what is now Fort Monroe in Hampton, Virginia, is the second kind.

On 24 April the Embassy took part in the inauguration of the African Landing Memorial Plaza there — the first completed element of the memorial. The ceremony honoured the first Angolans brought to Virginia in 1619, taken from a ship that sailed out of the Port of Luanda and put ashore at Point Comfort that August. Everything that followed in the history of African America begins at that waterline.

Ambassador Agostinho Van-Dúnem represented Angola, alongside Governor Abigail Spanberger, Attorney General Jay Jones and Senator Mamie Locke. The Governor described Point Comfort as the place “where the complete history of the United States begins”.

The Ambassador called the plaza “a living testament — a place where silence speaks, where history breathes and where memory finally finds recognition long denied”, and thanked Fort Monroe, the Tucker family and the Government of Virginia.

Drummers and dancers performed through the afternoon. The oldest thread between Angola and the United States is not diplomatic or commercial. It is human, it is four centuries old, and it is still being followed.

Em português

A Embaixada participou, a 24 de Abril, na inauguração da African Landing Memorial Plaza, em Fort Monroe, na Virgínia — erguida no local onde, em 1619, desembarcaram os primeiros angolanos levados para a Virgínia.

Angola foi representada pelo Embaixador Agostinho Van-Dúnem, a par da Governadora Abigail Spanberger, do Procurador-Geral Jay Jones e da Senadora Mamie Locke. O Embaixador afirmou que a praça é «um testemunho vivo — um lugar onde o silêncio fala, onde a história respira e onde a memória encontra finalmente o reconhecimento que lhe foi longamente negado».

The African Landing Memorial Plaza, at the water's edge.
The Ambassador with the Governor of Virginia, Abigail Spanberger.
The Ambassador seated with Governor Spanberger during the addresses.
Addresses were delivered facing the Chesapeake Bay.
Percussionists on the new plaza.
Dancers perform through the afternoon.
Guests and descendant families at the dedication.
Much of the audience had travelled to be there.

angola.org · Institutional Communication and Press Service, 25 April 2026

03TRADE & INVESTMENT June 2026 · Luanda

Angola and Ohio Open a Business Channel

Angola e o Estado de Ohio reúnem-se em Luanda

A state-level partnership, negotiated minister to director, aimed squarely at investment, trade and company-to-company deals.

Angola and Ohio Open a Business Channel
The Angolan and Ohio delegations at the Ministry of External Relations in Luanda.As delegações angolana e do Estado de Ohio no Ministério das Relações Exteriores, em Luanda.

Delegations from Angola and the American State of Ohio met in June, in Luanda, to examine how to deepen cooperation — with particular emphasis on investment, trade and business partnerships.

The Angolan delegation was led by Ambassador Esmeralda Bravo Conde da Silva Mendonça, Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs; the American delegation by Lydia Mihalik, Director of the Ohio Department of Development.

The Secretary of State reiterated Angola's commitment to a business environment that is increasingly attractive, transparent and competitive for foreign investment.

Em português

Delegações de Angola e do Estado de Ohio reuniram-se em Junho, em Luanda, para analisar o aprofundamento da cooperação, com especial incidência no investimento e no comércio.

A delegação angolana foi chefiada pela Embaixadora Esmeralda Bravo Conde da Silva Mendonça, Secretária de Estado para as Relações Exteriores; a americana por Lydia Mihalik, Directora do Departamento de Desenvolvimento do Estado de Ohio.

Secretary of State Esmeralda Bravo Conde da Silva Mendonça with members of the delegations.
Members of the Angolan delegation follow the proceedings.
The two delegations across the table at MIREX.

Institutional Communication and Press Service

04ENVIRONMENT & CONSERVATION March 2026 · Washington, D.C.

Climate, Water and the Giant Sable

Ministra do Ambiente reúne-se com o Senador Martin Heinrich

Angola's Minister of Environment brings the country's adaptation record — and its conservation gains — to the United States Congress.

Climate, Water and the Giant Sable
Angola's Minister of Environment, Ana Paula de Carvalho, with United States Senator Martin Heinrich.A Ministra do Ambiente de Angola, Ana Paula de Carvalho, com o Senador norte-americano Martin Heinrich.

Angola's Minister of Environment, Ana Paula de Carvalho, held a working meeting in March of this year with United States Senator Martin Heinrich, in the United States of America — a meeting attended also by the Ambassador of the Republic of Angola to the United States of America, Agostinho Van-Dúnem.

The meeting made it possible to address matters of common interest relating to climate change, the conservation of biodiversity and the strengthening of environmental cooperation between Angola and the United States.

During the meeting the Minister set out the efforts the Angolan Government has been making in adapting to climate change, including the implementation of the first National Adaptation Plan, together with the measures under way to mitigate the effects of drought and water scarcity in some regions of the country, particularly in southern Angola.

Also presented were the advances achieved in expanding the country's conservation areas, with an increase in the number of environmental reserves and the creation of new protected areas, reinforcing the preservation of biodiversity and of Angola's emblematic species, such as the Giant Sable Antelope and the elephant.

Em português

A Ministra do Ambiente de Angola, Ana Paula de Carvalho, manteve em Março do corrente ano, um encontro de trabalho com o Senador norte-americano Martin Heinrich, nos Estados Unidos da América, numa reunião que contou igualmente com a presença do Embaixador da República de Angola nos Estados Unidos da América, Agostinho Van-Dúnem.

O encontro permitiu abordar temas de interesse comum relacionados com as mudanças climáticas, a conservação da biodiversidade e o reforço da cooperação ambiental entre Angola e os Estados Unidos.

Durante a reunião, a Ministra destacou os esforços que o Governo angolano tem desenvolvido no domínio da adaptação às mudanças climáticas, incluindo a implementação do primeiro Plano Nacional de Adaptação, bem como as medidas em curso para mitigar os impactos da seca e da escassez de água em algumas regiões do país, particularmente no sul de Angola.

Foram igualmente apresentados os avanços alcançados na expansão das áreas de conservação, com o aumento do número de reservas ambientais e a criação de novas áreas protegidas, reforçando a preservação da biodiversidade e das espécies emblemáticas do país, como a Palanca Negra Gigante e os elefantes.

The Ambassador of Angola, Agostinho Van-Dúnem, the Minister of Environment and Senator Martin Heinrich.

Press Release No. 104 · Institutional Communication and Press Service

05AFRICAN DIPLOMATIC CORPS 29 July 2026 · African Union Mission, Washington, D.C.

A Farewell Among Peers

Despedida no seio do Corpo Diplomático Africano

The African diplomatic corps in Washington honours the departing Ambassadors of Egypt and Gabon.

A Farewell Among Peers
Heads of mission of the African diplomatic corps at the African Union Mission in Washington, D.C.Chefes de missão do Corpo Diplomático Africano na Missão da União Africana em Washington, D.C.

On 29 July the African diplomatic corps accredited in Washington gathered at the Mission of the African Union to bid farewell to the Ambassadors of Egypt and of Gabon, at the close of their tours of duty.

The corps is one of the quieter but more consequential structures in this city. Its members coordinate positions ahead of multilateral meetings and speak with one voice on questions where fifty-five separate voices would be ignored. Tributes were paid, plaques presented, and the Embassy of Angola was represented.

H.E. Motaz Zahran
H.E. Motaz ZahranAmbassador of the Arab Republic of EgyptAmbassador in Washington since 2020, and previously Egypt's Ambassador to Canada. He served an earlier posting at the Egyptian Embassy here between 2007 and 2011, and came to the appointment from Assistant Foreign Minister and Chief of Cabinet at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
H.E. Noël Nelson Messone
H.E. Noël Nelson MessoneAmbassador of the Gabonese RepublicAmbassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary since 2022. A career of multilateral work preceded it: Permanent Representative of Gabon to the United Nations in New York from 2011 to 2014, chair of the Security Council in June 2011, and his country's chief negotiator at the climate conferences.

Em português

A 29 de Julho, o Corpo Diplomático Africano acreditado em Washington reuniu-se na Missão da União Africana para despedir-se dos Embaixadores do Egipto e do Gabão.

Foram prestadas homenagens e entregues placas comemorativas. A Embaixada de Angola esteve representada.

Heads of mission after the ceremony.
A commemorative plaque is presented to a departing head of mission.
Remarks from the floor during the tribute session.
Colleagues gather for photographs after the ceremony.