Luanda | Monday
ANGOLA and Zimbabwe want to create joint companies to manufacture weapons, an Angolan military source said on Monday, after defence ministers from the two countries met at the weekend.
The proposal surfaced during the meeting between Angolan Defense Minister Kundi Pahyama and his Zimbabwean counterpart Sydney Sekeramai, the source said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
Talks on the creation of these joint companies will continue through diplomatic channels, the source said.
Angola and Zimbabwe have both deployed troops to back the government of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) against rebel groups supported by Rwanda and Uganda.
Angola has also battled a rebel insurgency of its own since independence in 1975.
The war has claimed at least 500 000 lives and displaced some four million people out of a total population of 12-million, most of whom now depend on international aid to survive.
During the ministers’ meeting, Pahyama said that his country needs 250 000 tonnes of maize to avoid aggravating the food shortage that many displaced Angolans already face.
Zimbabwe is normally a major producer of maize in the region, but this year is projected to suffer its own shortage because of the country’s political and economic crisis. – AFP