The Angolan Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCIA) will boost cooperation between Angolan and Zambian companies as a way to strengthen economic relations, its secretary general Antonio Tiago Gomes said Thursday.

Speaking at the signing ceremony of a cooperation protocol, the official stressed that the Angolan government is committed to economic diversification, which poses an opportunity to produce goods and services through partnerships and investments in agriculture, livestock, agro-industry, transport, among other sectors.

According to the secretary general, Angola has everything to grow and develop, especially if it can benefit from cooperation with countries such as Zambia.

Zambian Chamber of Commerce and Industry chairperson, Michel Nyerenda, said the signing comes at an opportune time, given the fact that the Zambian economy is stabilized.

"The foreign exchange between the dollar and Zambian currency is lower to 6 percent, given the fact that the government is fighting inflation in all products entering and exiting the country," he said.

Angola and Zambia share a long common border and booming bilateral cooperation at the level of the Southern African Development Community (SADC), covering politics, defense and security, transport, education, health, agriculture, geology and mining.

(Xinhua News Agency, October 12, 2017)