Pretoria – The chief of the General Staff of the Angolan Armed Forces (FAA) António Egídio de Sousa e Santos Friday in Pretoria met with South African authorities to discuss the strengthening of cooperation in the fields of industry, military health and English language training.

The meeting also addressed issues related to the strengthening of joint defence mechanisms, peacekeeping missions and SADC Standby force, said a note from Angolan Embassy in South Africa.

Egídio de Sousa e Santos also analysed with SADC counterparts situations of bilateral and multilateral fields, with stress to the situation in the Great Lakes, where he is president of the Committee of Chiefs of Staff.

The FAA general also attended the ceremony on exchange of the South African Defence Military Command.

General Zacharias Solly Shoke, who was the commander of the South African Defence Forces for ten years, handed over the baton of command to his successor, General Rudzani Maphwany (former commander of the South African Special Forces).

Attended the ceremony President Cyril Ramaphosa, in capacity of Commander-in-Chief, as well as several Chiefs of staff/Commanders of the Defence Forces of the SADC countries, like Angola, Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia, Mozambique and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

Angola and South Africa defence relations are based on the Cooperation Protocol, signed in Cape Town in February 2005.

Source: Angola Press News Agency