Pretoria - Angola's President, Jose Eduardo Dos Santos, will tomorrow pay his first state visit to South Africa where he is expected to sign several trade agreements with his counterpart President Jacob Zuma.
Angola was among the first African countries to be visited by Zuma after his election last year.
The Department of International Relations and Cooperation said the two will review progress on the key areas of bilateral cooperation including among others energy, mining, agriculture, transport trade and investment.
With Angola taking over the chairmanship of SADC, Pretoria views that country as an important partner both economically and politically.
Once a war-torn region, Angola's trade with South Africa has shown steady growth in recent years. In 2009, South African exports to Angola amounted to R5.5 billion whilst Angolan exports to South Africa amounted to almost R12 billion. South African exports to Angola include a wide range of products whilst Angolan exports are predominantly petroleum related products.
Almost 90 percent of Angolan exports to South Africa in 2009 were petroleum related products. It is expected that trade cooperation between the two countries would grow to greater heights against the backdrop of strengthened political relations.
