Angola’s Minister of Transport, Ricardo Viegas D’Abreu, said on Friday at the opening of Expansão‘s 2nd Transport and Logistics Forum that investment in transport infrastructure is a key driver of economic growth, stressing that a country’s competitiveness increasingly depends on the efficiency of its logistics network.
Addressing an audience of government officials, regulators, operators and investors, the minister justified the Executive’s commitment to modernising the sector by posing the question that concluded his speech: “Why do countries invest in transport infrastructure?”
Answering his own question, Ricardo Viegas D’Abreu said economies invest because “no economy can grow consistently if people, goods and services continue to move with high costs, excessive delays and low predictability.”
He added that countries have come to understand that “the competitiveness of an economy increasingly depends on the efficiency of its logistics.”
The minister also argued that economic development depends not only on the availability of natural resources but also on the ability to organise and integrate them into an efficient logistics network.
“Development is not determined solely by the resources a country possesses. Above all, it depends on how those resources are organised, connected and placed at the service of the economy,” he said.
According to the minister, this is why Angola is investing in the construction of a national transport and logistics system capable of reducing structural costs, increasing productivity, bringing markets closer together, encouraging private investment and accelerating economic diversification.
Concluding his remarks, Ricardo Viegas D’Abreu reaffirmed the government’s commitment to transforming the sector.
“This is the path we have chosen. It is the commitment we renew before the Angolan people, investors and our international partners. It is the future we are building together every day,” he said.
The 2nd Expansão Transport and Logistics Forum is being held at the Talatona Convention Centre under the theme “Logistics and Development Corridors”, bringing together public and private sector leaders to discuss the role of transport infrastructure in diversifying Angola’s economy and strengthening its competitiveness.
Source: Expansão
