The event was presented today at a press conference, where Angola’s Minister of Industry and Trade, Rui Miguêns, announced that due to the new political-administrative division, the fair is now geographically located in the province of Icolo e Bengo and has been renamed the International Fair of Angola.
However, due to the symbolism the name represents, the designation Filda [from the former designation of Feira Internacional de Luanda] will also be maintained, the minister emphasized.
“For now, we will keep the name Filda, as it represents a history, and later, with some calm, we will find a different name if necessary,” he stressed.
On the other hand, the Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Arena Group, Bruno Albernaz, stated that this edition has the theme “50 Years Consolidating Economic Independence and Integration of Angola in the World”.
Regarding the participation of Portugal, Bruno Albernaz mentioned that so far, 24 Portuguese companies have confirmed their participation, displaying their businesses in a dedicated pavilion of 300 square meters.
“Portugal is a traditional partner of Filda, once again this year with a pavilion, it continues to be one of the pavilions with the largest international participation, reaffirming its role as a traditional partner with many companies, not only in the Portugal pavilion, which is organized by AICEP [Agency for Investment and Foreign Trade of Portugal], but also by companies that come independently,” he indicated.
Bruno Albernaz reported that around 1,182 companies have already confirmed their participation, 93% of which are Angolan, with expectations to surpass the 1,700 participants of the previous edition.
Countries confirmed to participate include Brazil, Portugal, Indonesia, Belarus, Turkey, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, France, Namibia, Italy, Mozambique, British Virgin Islands, Zambia, Germany, South Africa, South Korea, and Poland, with expressed interest from the United States of America, Canada, Saudi Arabia, Spain, and a Swedish company.
“Previously, Filda had much greater international participation than national, and this year there is an increasingly effective confirmation of a larger number of Angolan companies, that is, more industry made in Angola, more transformation industry, more Angolan service and agriculture companies,” Bruno Albernaz highlighted.
The 40th edition of the International Fair of Angola highlights the growth of participation from sectors such as agribusiness, agriculture, agro-livestock, and fisheries, as well as the manufacturing and extractive industries, indicators that are increasing compared to the previous year.
This year, a new feature will be the Angolan culture salon, where paintings, crafts, poetry events, literature related to the 50 years of independence, which Angola will celebrate on November 11 this year, will be displayed, along with a pavilion solely dedicated to the automotive sector.
Rui Miguêns emphasized that bringing together a significant number of companies and countries every year demonstrates that “there is no loss of interest in the fair, that entrepreneurs, starting with Angolans but also foreigners, see the fair as an important vehicle for promoting their businesses, to conduct and finalize deals.”
