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DE RUEHLU #0537/01 1961159
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O 141159Z JUL 08
FM AMEMBASSY LUANDA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 4887
INFO RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC
RHMFISS/HQ USAFRICOM STUTTGART GE
RUCNSAD/SOUTHERN AF DEVELOPMENT COMMUNITY COLLECTIVE

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 05 LUANDA 000537 
 
SIPDIS 
 
FROM AMBASSADOR DAN MOZENA 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL OVIP JEFFERY REUBEN ECON PGOV EAID AO
SUBJECT: SCENESETTER FOR U/S REUBEN JEFFERY'S VISIT TO ANGOLA 
¶1. (U) My staff and I warmly welcome your July 21-22 visit to 
Angola.  Your visit, the highest level USG visit to Angola since 
Secretary Powell's four-hour stop in September 2002, manifests what 
 
the Angolan government most wants from America:  respect.  I hope 
your visit presages more high level USG engagement with Angola. 
Your visit affords an excellent opportunity to engage Angolans on a 
range of issues, including regional stability (especially Zimbabwe 
and DRC), democracy (in the context of Angola's September 
legislative elections, the first in 16 years), economic reform and 
diversification.  The government remembers well that the U.S. backed 
their enemies, the losing horses in the nation's horrific civil war, 
but nonetheless seems increasingly open to deepening the 
relationship with the U.S. and continues to value its long 
relationship with American oil companies.  Angola's annual economic 
growth rate is over 20 percent, but most Angolans live in abject 
poverty.  Although the government seeks greater US investment beyond 
the oil/gas sector, it has much to do to make the investment climate 
more appealing to potential investors.  Many members of a new 
generation of economic leaders are open to economic reform; your 
visit will help chart how best the U.S. can support much needed 
reforms. 
¶2. (U) Angola matters to the United States.  Specifically, 
a peaceful, stable Angola is essential to the peace and security of 
central and southern Africa.  Also, Angola has a large, healthy, and 
relatively capable military, one that could play a much larger role 
in fostering peace on this troubled continent.  In addition, Angola 
is America's sixth or seventh largest source of imported oil 
(depending upon the state of Iraq's pipelines,) a source outside the 
volatile Middle East.  In pursuit of these strategic interests, we 
seek an Angola that is peaceful, secure, prosperous, healthy and 
democratic.  When I presented my credentials to President Dos Santos 
this past January, he told me that he shared this vision of Angola 
and urged me to work with his government to make this vision a 
reality.  Today, our endeavors in Angola focus on advancing Angola's 
development along these lines. 
¶3.  (U) In some respects, Angola is only six years old.  Following 
the February 2002 end of its civil war, Angola first overcame a 
massive humanitarian disaster in feeding and resettling millions of 
internally displaced persons and refugees.  U.S. food assistance was 
key to averting widespread starvation.  Successfully averting this 
disaster, Angola has now shifted to a huge reconstruction campaign 
to rebuild the nation's devastated physical infrastructure (roads, 
railroads, schools, clinics, telecommunications and other 
utilities).  Although the U.S. continues to play an important role 
in helping Angola deal with the millions of land mines and 
unexploded ordnance, which obstruct reconstruction, the huge and 
lucrative contracts for the reconstruction work have gone to others, 
especially the Chinese, Brazilians and Portuguese.  American 
petro-dollars fund these contracts to a great extent. I would like 
to see more of these petro-dollars coming back to the U.S. 
 
¶4. (U) Meanwhile, Angola is strengthening its emerging democratic 
institutions.  On September 5, it will hold elections for the 
national assembly; these will be Angola's first elections in 16 
years.  The game plan is to hold presidential elections next year 
and local elections, the first ever in Angola's history, in 2010. 
We are an important partner in helping Angola prepare for these 
elections. 
 
¶5. (U) Angola seeks a more prominent role in the region.  It has 
engaged constructively in helping stabilize neighboring DRC (a 
strategic Angolan objective,) and it has provided some limited 
forces to peacekeeping operations in select parts of Africa but 
could do so much more in this regard.  As chairman of the SADC 
Troika of the Organ on Politics, Defense, and Security Cooperation, 
Angola is pivotal in ongoing SADC efforts to find a solution to the 
deepening crisis in Zimbabwe. 
The Economy 
----------- 
¶6. (U) Angola's economy is one of the fastest growing in the world, 
thanks to growing oil production and rising oil prices.  Although 
oil production is supposedly capped by OPEC at 1.9 million barrels 
per day (bpd), Angola is currently producing about 2.0 million bpd; 
production is expected to plateau within a year or so at about 2.2 
million bpd.  Angola's economy grew by 19.5 percent in 2006 and 23.4 
percent in 2007, and should match or beat that pace in 2008. 
Inflation was reduced from triple digits near the end of the war to 
just under 12 percent last year. Thanks to petroleum revenue, 
foreign exchange reserves are growing rapidly; Angola currently has 
an estimated USD 15 billion in reserve.  Angola paid off the USD 6 
billion principal of its Paris club debt in late 2007 and early 
2008, and then negotiated payment of late interest arrearages. 
 
¶7. (U) Angola's impressive success on the macro-economic front has 
yet to yield tangible benefits for most Angolan citizens, 12 million 
of whom live on less that $1.70 per day.  Angola ranks 162 out of 
177 countries in the UNDP Human Development Index, and maternal and 
child mortality rates are among the worst in the world. 
Unemployment and underemployment are rampant, as the high-tech oil 
sector creates relatively few jobs for Angolans.  Angola's challenge 
 
LUANDA 00000537  002 OF 005 
 
¶1. (U) My staff and I warmly welcome your July 21-22 visit to 
Angola.  Your visit, the highest level USG visit to Angola since 
Secretary Powell's four-hour stop in September 2002, manifests what 
the Angolan government most wants from America:  respect.  I hope 
your visit presages more high level USG engagement with Angola. 
Your visit affords an excellent opportunity to engage Angolans on a 
range of issues, including regional stability (especially Zimbabwe 
and DRC), democracy (in the context of Angola's September 
legislative elections, the first in 16 years), economic reform and 
diversification.  The government remembers well that the U.S. backed 
their enemies, the losing horses in the nation's horrific civil war, 
but nonetheless seems increasingly open to deepening the 
relationship with the U.S. and continues to value its long 
relationship with American oil companies.  Angola's annual economic 
growth rate is over 20 percent, but most Angolans live in abject 
poverty.  Although the government seeks greater US investment beyond 
the oil/gas sector, it has much to do to make the investment climate 
more appealing to potential investors.  Many members of a new 
generation of economic leaders are open to economic reform; your 
visit will help chart how best the U.S. can support much needed 
reforms. 
¶2. (U) Angola matters to the United States.  Specifically, 
a peaceful, stable Angola is essential to the peace and security of 
central and southern Africa.  Also, Angola has a large, healthy, and 
relatively capable military, one that could play a much larger role 
in fostering peace on this troubled continent.  In addition, Angola 
is America's sixth or seventh largest source of imported oil 
(depending upon the state of Iraq's pipelines,) a source outside the 
volatile Middle East.  In pursuit of these strategic interests, we 
seek an Angola that is peaceful, secure, prosperous, healthy and 
democratic.  When I presented my credentials to President Dos Santos 
this past January, he told me that he shared this vision of Angola 
and urged me to work with his government to make this vision a 
reality.  Today, our endeavors in Angola focus on advancing Angola's 
development along these lines. 
¶3.  (U) In some respects, Angola is only six years old.  Following 
the February 2002 end of its civil war, Angola first overcame a 
massive humanitarian disaster in feeding and resettling millions of 
internally displaced persons and refugees.  U.S. food assistance was 
key to averting widespread starvation.  Successfully averting this 
disaster, Angola has now shifted to a huge reconstruction campaign 
to rebuild the nation's devastated physical infrastructure (roads, 
railroads, schools, clinics, telecommunications and other 
utilities).  Although the U.S. continues to play an important role 
in helping Angola deal with the millions of land mines and 
unexploded ordnance, which obstruct reconstruction, the huge and 
lucrative contracts for the reconstruction work have gone to others, 
especially the Chinese, Brazilians and Portuguese.  American 
petro-dollars fund these contracts to a great extent. I would like 
to see more of these petro-dollars coming back to the U.S. 
 
is to kick-start the now-moribund non-oil sectors to generate jobs 
for the nation's young and rapidly growing population, which largely 
remains on the sidelines of the economic boom.  Agriculture and 
agriculture processing offer the most promise; Angola once was a 
major food producing and exporting country.  Other sectors rich with 
potential include fisheries, forestry and light industry. 
 
¶8. (U) Investment is key to unleashing the non-oil sectors of the 
economy, but Angola remains a difficult environment for such 
investment.  Angola continues to rank near the bottom in most of the 
World Bank's "Doing Business" indicators.  According to the 2007 
index, Angola ranks 167 out of 178 countries in promoting an open 
and efficient business climate, and its rankings of 173 out of 178 
in the category of "starting a business" and 176 out of 178 in 
"enforcing contracts" are of particular concern for investors.  Rule 
of law is weak; corruption is pervasive; and, the cost of doing 
business here is high, as Angola, especially Luanda, is among the 
most expensive places in the world.  Basic infrastructure, roads, 
railroads, electricity supply, water, ports, and air service are all 
deeply deficient, thus driving up further the cost of doing business 
here.  Clearly, deep, broad-based reform is essential if ever Angola 
is to attract the investment needed to energize the economy. 
Politics and Elections 
---------------------- 
¶9. (SBU) Angola is nominally a multi-party democracy, but its 
government is dominated by the Popular Movement for the Liberation 
of Angola (MPLA) and a strong chief executive, Jose Eduardo Dos 
Santos, who has been in office since 1979.  Angola's only democratic 
elections since independence in 1975 were held in 1992.  The result 
was disputed by Jonas Savimbi, leader of the opposition party Union 
for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA), who plunged the nation 
back into civil war for another decade.  That devastating war ended 
only in February 2002, when Savimbi was killed in battle. 
¶10. (U) Angola has made impressive progress in preparing for the 
September legislative elections, the first since 1992.  The 
high-tech voter registration put over 8 million Angolans on the 
voter rolls.  U.S. assistance for democracy-building and good 
governance in FY 07 was approximately $7.5 million.  Our programs 
are administered through USAID and implemented by the International 
 
LUANDA 00000537  003 OF 005 
 
¶1. (U) My staff and I warmly welcome your July 21-22 visit to 
Angola.  Your visit, the highest level USG visit to Angola since 
Secretary Powell's four-hour stop in September 2002, manifests what 
the Angolan government most wants from America:  respect.  I hope 
your visit presages more high level USG engagement with Angola. 
Your visit affords an excellent opportunity to engage Angolans on a 
range of issues, including regional stability (especially Zimbabwe 
and DRC), democracy (in the context of Angola's September 
legislative elections, the first in 16 years), economic reform and 
diversification.  The government remembers well that the U.S. backed 
their enemies, the losing horses in the nation's horrific civil war, 
but nonetheless seems increasingly open to deepening the 
relationship with the U.S. and continues to value its long 
relationship with American oil companies.  Angola's annual economic 
growth rate is over 20 percent, but most Angolans live in abject 
poverty.  Although the government seeks greater US investment beyond 
the oil/gas sector, it has much to do to make the investment climate 
more appealing to potential investors.  Many members of a new 
generation of economic leaders are open to economic reform; your 
visit will help chart how best the U.S. can support much needed 
reforms. 
¶2. (U) Angola matters to the United States.  Specifically, 
a peaceful, stable Angola is essential to the peace and security of 
central and southern Africa.  Also, Angola has a large, healthy, and 
relatively capable military, one that could play a much larger role 
in fostering peace on this troubled continent.  In addition, Angola 
is America's sixth or seventh largest source of imported oil 
(depending upon the state of Iraq's pipelines,) a source outside the 
volatile Middle East.  In pursuit of these strategic interests, we 
seek an Angola that is peaceful, secure, prosperous, healthy and 
democratic.  When I presented my credentials to President Dos Santos 
this past January, he told me that he shared this vision of Angola 
and urged me to work with his government to make this vision a 
reality.  Today, our endeavors in Angola focus on advancing Angola's 
development along these lines. 
¶3.  (U) In some respects, Angola is only six years old.  Following 
the February 2002 end of its civil war, Angola first overcame a 
massive humanitarian disaster in feeding and resettling millions of 
internally displaced persons and refugees.  U.S. food assistance was 
key to averting widespread starvation.  Successfully averting this 
disaster, Angola has now shifted to a huge reconstruction campaign 
to rebuild the nation's devastated physical infrastructure (roads, 
railroads, schools, clinics, telecommunications and other 
utilities).  Although the U.S. continues to play an important role 
in helping Angola deal with the millions of land mines and 
unexploded ordnance, which obstruct reconstruction, the huge and 
lucrative contracts for the reconstruction work have gone to others, 
especially the Chinese, Brazilians and Portuguese.  American 
petro-dollars fund these contracts to a great extent. I would like 
to see more of these petro-dollars coming back to the U.S. 
 
Republican Institute (IRI), the National Democratic Institute (NDI), 
and IFES.  They focus on educating voters, building civil society 
capacity, strengthening political parties, and providing technical 
assistance on the logistics of elections.  We expect the elections 
to be peaceful, but the concentration of power and wealth in the 
ruling party and the state control of media tilt the playing field 
in the incumbents' favor. 
Military Cooperation 
-------------------- 
11.(U) Bilateral cooperation in the military sphere has been the 
toughest nut to crack.  Angolan participation in the International 
Military Education and Training Program (IMET) has gone to virtually 
zero.  Angolan engagement in other proposed activities (VIP visits, 
US defense-related conferences and programs, and a wide variety of 
assistance programs) has been hit or miss, mainly miss.  In April, I 
raised directly with President Dos Santos our concern that 
military-to-military cooperation was not advancing along the lines 
that he had told me during my January credentialing.  Dos Santos 
responded that he would "look into this" concern, and subsequently 
there has been some movement in breaking this bilateral logjam. 
Whether this progress continues remains to be seen, given the 
seeming antipathy of Angolan leaders for military engagement with 
the U.S. 
Human Rights Record is Poor 
--------------------------- 
¶12. (U) Angola's human rights record is poor.  The country's 
overburdened judicial system does not protect the rights of 
individuals.  Elements of the military and police continue to 
disregard human rights. A December 2007 report by Doctors without 
Borders (MSF) documented systematic abuse, including mass rape, by 
Angolan security forces of illegal Congolese immigrants who were 
being deported from the diamond-rich Lunda Norte.  The Army Chief of 
Staff promised to investigate the allegations, but he has not issued 
any report of his findings or taken any evident action against 
perpetrators.  Reports of security force abuses of illegal Congolese 
continue. 
¶13. (U) Prisons are overcrowded and conditions harsh, especially in 
the provinces.  The NGO movement is still nascent, but there are 
some indigenous organizations tracking human rights abuses and 
 
LUANDA 00000537  004 OF 005 
 
¶1. (U) My staff and I warmly welcome your July 21-22 visit to 
Angola.  Your visit, the highest level USG visit to Angola since 
Secretary Powell's four-hour stop in September 2002, manifests what 
the Angolan government most wants from America:  respect.  I hope 
your visit presages more high level USG engagement with Angola. 
Your visit affords an excellent opportunity to engage Angolans on a 
range of issues, including regional stability (especially Zimbabwe 
and DRC), democracy (in the context of Angola's September 
legislative elections, the first in 16 years), economic reform and 
diversification.  The government remembers well that the U.S. backed 
their enemies, the losing horses in the nation's horrific civil war, 
but nonetheless seems increasingly open to deepening the 
relationship with the U.S. and continues to value its long 
relationship with American oil companies.  Angola's annual economic 
growth rate is over 20 percent, but most Angolans live in abject 
poverty.  Although the government seeks greater US investment beyond 
the oil/gas sector, it has much to do to make the investment climate 
more appealing to potential investors.  Many members of a new 
generation of economic leaders are open to economic reform; your 
visit will help chart how best the U.S. can support much needed 
reforms. 
¶2. (U) Angola matters to the United States.  Specifically, 
a peaceful, stable Angola is essential to the peace and security of 
central and southern Africa.  Also, Angola has a large, healthy, and 
relatively capable military, one that could play a much larger role 
in fostering peace on this troubled continent.  In addition, Angola 
is America's sixth or seventh largest source of imported oil 
(depending upon the state of Iraq's pipelines,) a source outside the 
volatile Middle East.  In pursuit of these strategic interests, we 
seek an Angola that is peaceful, secure, prosperous, healthy and 
democratic.  When I presented my credentials to President Dos Santos 
this past January, he told me that he shared this vision of Angola 
and urged me to work with his government to make this vision a 
reality.  Today, our endeavors in Angola focus on advancing Angola's 
development along these lines. 
¶3.  (U) In some respects, Angola is only six years old.  Following 
the February 2002 end of its civil war, Angola first overcame a 
massive humanitarian disaster in feeding and resettling millions of 
internally displaced persons and refugees.  U.S. food assistance was 
key to averting widespread starvation.  Successfully averting this 
disaster, Angola has now shifted to a huge reconstruction campaign 
to rebuild the nation's devastated physical infrastructure (roads, 
railroads, schools, clinics, telecommunications and other 
utilities).  Although the U.S. continues to play an important role 
in helping Angola deal with the millions of land mines and 
unexploded ordnance, which obstruct reconstruction, the huge and 
lucrative contracts for the reconstruction work have gone to others, 
especially the Chinese, Brazilians and Portuguese.  American 
petro-dollars fund these contracts to a great extent. I would like 
to see more of these petro-dollars coming back to the U.S. 
 
working with the GRA to train the national police on human rights 
issues. Angola's 2007 candidacy for a three-year term on the UN 
Human Rights Council was seen by many as an indicator of increased 
willingness to engage with the international community on human 
rights issues, but the GRA's April 2008 decision to close the local 
UN Human Rights Office (in direct contradiction to a written promise 
made in campaigning for the seat on the UNHRC) raises question about 
the nation's commitment to protecting human rights. 
¶14. (U) USG-funded programs have helped train police through the 
International Law Enforcement Academy (ILEA) in Gaborone.  In 
addition, USG-funded international organization partners in Angola 
have provided training and capacity-building for law enforcement 
officials on specific issues such as trafficking in persons and 
child rights.  The USG and the Portuguese government also automated 
the Luanda Provincial criminal court. 
Peace and Security 
-------------------- 
¶15. (SBU) Angola emerged from conflict littered with the refuse of 
war. Millions of landmines and unexploded ordnance continue to kill 
and maim Angolans and impede the country's reconstruction and 
development.  Demining is a GRA priority.  Government demining 
focuses on land clearance for large reconstruction projects like 
railroads and electric transmission towers.  Humanitarian demining 
continues to be done almost exclusively by international and 
national NGOs.  USG remains a major player in demining (USD 6 
million in FY-07 and a total of USD 56 million since 1995), helping 
to restore access to war torn areas, return land for agricultural, 
social and productive use, and build the capacity of the national 
demining authority. 
Development and US Assistance 
----------------------------- 
¶16. (U) Despite recent economic growth and development, Angola still 
has some of the lowest development indicators in the world. 
Although statistical data are imprecise, best international 
estimates are that 68 percent of the population lives in poverty, 26 
percent in abject poverty.  Life expectancy is 47 years, more than 
30 percent lower than the average for developing nations; infant 
mortality, maternal mortality and other measures of the quality of 
life are among the worst in the world. Fertility is high, an average 
 
LUANDA 00000537  005 OF 005 
 
¶1. (U) My staff and I warmly welcome your July 21-22 visit to 
Angola.  Your visit, the highest level USG visit to Angola since 
Secretary Powell's four-hour stop in September 2002, manifests what 
the Angolan government most wants from America:  respect.  I hope 
your visit presages more high level USG engagement with Angola. 
Your visit affords an excellent opportunity to engage Angolans on a 
range of issues, including regional stability (especially Zimbabwe 
and DRC), democracy (in the context of Angola's September 
legislative elections, the first in 16 years), economic reform and 
diversification.  The government remembers well that the U.S. backed 
their enemies, the losing horses in the nation's horrific civil war, 
but nonetheless seems increasingly open to deepening the 
relationship with the U.S. and continues to value its long 
relationship with American oil companies.  Angola's annual economic 
growth rate is over 20 percent, but most Angolans live in abject 
poverty.  Although the government seeks greater US investment beyond 
the oil/gas sector, it has much to do to make the investment climate 
more appealing to potential investors.  Many members of a new 
generation of economic leaders are open to economic reform; your 
visit will help chart how best the U.S. can support much needed 
reforms. 
¶2. (U) Angola matters to the United States.  Specifically, 
a peaceful, stable Angola is essential to the peace and security of 
central and southern Africa.  Also, Angola has a large, healthy, and 
relatively capable military, one that could play a much larger role 
in fostering peace on this troubled continent.  In addition, Angola 
is America's sixth or seventh largest source of imported oil 
(depending upon the state of Iraq's pipelines,) a source outside the 
volatile Middle East.  In pursuit of these strategic interests, we 
seek an Angola that is peaceful, secure, prosperous, healthy and 
democratic.  When I presented my credentials to President Dos Santos 
this past January, he told me that he shared this vision of Angola 
and urged me to work with his government to make this vision a 
reality.  Today, our endeavors in Angola focus on advancing Angola's 
development along these lines. 
¶3.  (U) In some respects, Angola is only six years old.  Following 
the February 2002 end of its civil war, Angola first overcame a 
massive humanitarian disaster in feeding and resettling millions of 
internally displaced persons and refugees.  U.S. food assistance was 
key to averting widespread starvation.  Successfully averting this 
disaster, Angola has now shifted to a huge reconstruction campaign 
to rebuild the nation's devastated physical infrastructure (roads, 
railroads, schools, clinics, telecommunications and other 
utilities).  Although the U.S. continues to play an important role 
in helping Angola deal with the millions of land mines and 
unexploded ordnance, which obstruct reconstruction, the huge and 
lucrative contracts for the reconstruction work have gone to others, 
especially the Chinese, Brazilians and Portuguese.  American 
petro-dollars fund these contracts to a great extent. I would like 
to see more of these petro-dollars coming back to the U.S. 
 
of 5.8 births per woman. 
¶17. (U) USAID programs help Angola address the challenges of 
achieving long-term stability and improving the quality of life for 
its citizens.  Our flagship program is the President's Malaria 
Initiative (PMI), which seeks to halve by 2010 mortality from 
malaria among children under five, and we're on track to do that. 
The Angolan government, in particular the Health Ministry, has been 
closely involved in the program, and collaboration with other donors 
is strong.  In FY-07, the second year of implementation, PMI sprayed 
over 110,000 houses (affecting over 500,000 Angolans), distributed 
over 90,000 bed nets and furnished over 2.4 million treatments for 
malaria. 
¶18. (U) The USG is also highly visible in the fight against 
HIV/AIDS.  Angola presents a unique opportunity to combat the spread 
of HIV/AIDS.  According to the best available data, Angola has a 
relatively low prevalence rate (2.1 percent among adults), but areas 
bordering higher-prevalence neighboring countries have rates now up 
to four times as high and rising.  Angola has many factors that 
contribute to the spread of HIV/AIDS: early age of sexual debut, 
common practice of multiple concurrent sex partners, and increased 
cross border trade with countries that have significantly higher 
HIV/AIDS infection rates.  The USG (CDC, USAID, State and Defense) 
is working as a strong interagency team in partnership with the 
Angolan government, especially the Ministry of Health, private 
partners and NGOs to implement the national plan against HIV-AIDS. 
¶19. (U) The USG supports job creation to promote broad-based 
economic growth.  Small and medium enterprises in Angola lack 
management and technical skills, and have limited access to 
technology and capital.  A bilateral agreement with the Angolan 
Central Bank helps with finance; other programs help with skills. 
Agriculture could employ large numbers of people but lacks inputs, 
credit, and access to markets.  USAID assistance strengthens the 
value chains for crops with commercial potential:  bananas, potatoes 
and coffee. 
MOZENA