Galp Energia CEO believes oil will improve geopolitical position of Portuguese

Publico has an interview with the CEO of Galp Energia, a Portuguese energy firm with about 7000 employees, who believes upcoming production of oil in Brazil and gas in Mozambique are a good sign for the geopolitical importance of the Portuguese language.

Taking a look at the firm's worldwide presence shows a large similarity to the Portuguese Empire. Where the company operates:

and the Portuguese Empire:

Much of the article is about the company itself and its partner Sinopec. Taking that out and condensing some of the more general parts the executive summary is:

The CEO of Galp Energia, Ferreira de Oliveira, believes that Brazilian oil and gas from Mozambique will change the perception the world has of the CPLP (Community of Portuguese Language Countries). Galp expects to produce 300,000 barrels of oil per day in 2020, 80% from Brazil. In the past year the company invested $600 million in oil exploration there. Most of the production is to take place in the Lula and Iara fields, and production will begin in 2017.

Q: Will Brazil continue to be the main priority for Galp Energia, or will it move to Angola, or more likely, to Mozambique?

A: "In the Lusophone countries, especially in Angola, Mozambique and Brazil, from 2006 to today, we have seen 26% of all new discoveries of oil and gas. If we count only deepwater discoveries, they make up 52%. The rate of growth here will be explosive. I have no doubt that this decade in which we are living will position the CPLP geopolitically in the world. Mozambique is now developing the largest gas project in the world, and Brazil the largest oil project in the world. Being in these two projects is an enormous privilege and a huge responsibility.

Read more...

Draft of Angolan sign language created, now seeking official approval

From here in Portuguese:

Sign language is the instrument of communication for the deaf community in Angola, but it has not yet been recognized. For this reason, the National Institute for Special Education created a draft for standardization of sign language, where the protagonists are those from the deaf community itself. The deputy director of the National Institute for Special Education, Jorge Pedro, explained that there is a draft for sign language whose approval depends on the Ministry of Culture, which has not yet recognized Angolan sign language. "Not being recognized legally, we cannot get interpreters in institutions such as hospitals, prisons and police stations, because we cannot afford it." he said. Jorge Pedro explained that only with the recognition of the language interpreters could find room in the Ministry of Public Administration, Employment and Security, andc in the Ministry of Finance. "Up to now, interpreters serve without a legal base in those institutions that hire them for a specific purpose", he said. For example, he said that recently the National Police force contacted the National Institute for Special Education to ask for an interpreter to help understand a disabled citizen who wished to make a complaint.

Read more...

Two more pieces of news from the CPLP summit

Two more pieces of news to share from the recent CPLP summit where Equatorial Guinea was told to try again next time with better results on human rights if it wants to join:

--- The presidency of Angola has said that it is giving priority to promoting the Portuguese language with one of the goals being eventually having it as an official language of the UN. This is a subject you'll see in the Portuguese media from time to time. See this article from the New York Times in 2006 for more on this.

--- The other and more interesting article is this one - The president of São Tomé e Príncipe believes that Equatorial Guinea will be able to join (or rather that it should have been able to join), saying that there is a lot of misinformation about the country as viewed from the outside:

The head of the country said that when Equatorial Guinea requested joining the CPLP he saw it as "the prodigal son wanting to return home", considering the historical relations between Portugal and Equatorial Guinea. "And what is said about Equatorial Guinea? It is said, for example, that it has the death penalty. And the United States does not?"

The president said that he hoped that Equatorial Guinea would be admitted as a full member of the CPLP at the next summit in 2014 in Dili, the capital of East Timor.

Read more...

Macau establishes permanent secretariat for relations with Angola

From here in Portuguese:

The special administrative region of China and former Portuguese colony Macau established a permanent secretariat for closer economic and commercial ties between Angola and China, also serving as a platform linking the two countries.

Rita Santos, the deputy secretary-general of the Forum for Economic and Comercial Cooperation between China and Portuguese-language countries, said on Friday that Macau maintains good relations with Angola in various fields, and through the secretariat the region will serve as a platform for closer economic, commercial and cultural links. He also said that Angola is a country that is making large strides toward development. Also that "There is an Angolan community in Macau, as well as a friendship associates between the two peoples with a cultural week that we carry out every year."

Read more...

Macau to train professionals from Angola

Here's another article in Portuguese on China's wise use of Macau as a gateway to the Lusophone world, Angola in particular.

Angolan technicians in the sector of hotels and tourism will participate in a program of technical-professional training organized by the Macau Forum. The information was released yesterday in Beijing by the Secretary-General of the forum, Chang Hexi.

The movement of Angolan technicians to Macau is the result of a support program destined for Portuguese-language countries and driven by Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jiabao...The program contains human resources training and the promotion of commercial and economic investment, on the basis of a relationship between rommercial agents, associations and companies from both countries. At the end of this month, according to Chang Hexi, a fund estimated at a billion dollars will be announced by the Chinese central government. The line of credit will be designed to support Chinese companies that work in Portuguese-speaking countries.

Read more...

Interest in Chinese increasing among businesspeople in Portugal

From here in Portuguese a week ago:

Interest in the Chinese language and culture is greatly increasing in Portugal, particularly among businesspeople, said the dean of the University of Lisbon (António Sampaio da Nóvoa) to the Lusa news agency.

"We are opening intensive courses for businesspeople [because] the demand is impressive." he said when asked about the activity of the Confucius Institute at the UL, established four years ago in partnership with the Tianjin Institute of Foreign Studies.

The Confucius Institute at the UL is the second of its kind in Portugal, after the one established at the University of Minho, in Braga.

About 300 students now attend the Confucius Institute at the UL.

António Sampaio da Nóvoa began on Wednesday a one-week visit to China, accompanied by officials from the UL and the Macau Polytechnic Institute.

The visit coincides with the rapid growth of Portuguese courses in the Chinese continent, a phenomenon associated with the development of economic and commercial relations between China and Portuguese-language countries, particularly Angola and Brazil.

Not counting Macau, a decade ago the who of China only had two universities with degrees in Portuguese; today there are five in Beijing alone.

I would add Portugal to Angola and Brazil now, considering the amount of Chinese investment pouring in at the moment. For example from here:

The acquisition of 21.5 percent of power company Energias de Portugal (EdP) by China Three Gorges (CTG), at the end of last year, was a special moment for business relations and may be followed by the State Grid Corporation of China (SGCC) taking a static in Portugal’s national power grid, Redes Energéticas Nacionais (REN).

Also this and this article on more or less the same subject.

Read more...

Angola: remaking one's life in a country under construction

Publico had an article here yesterday about a subject referenced here a few times: Portuguese citizens making their way to Angola for better jobs in the booming (yet still very underdeveloped) economy, usually as engineers. It would be interesting to see a comparison between the number of Portuguese citizens going to Angola vs. other booming economies, which would give a rough idea of how much of a difference sharing a common language makes.

Senior management are the ones that emigrate to Angola the most, but there are young people as well leaving for the adventure. In this country under construction, there are always more and more Portuguese leaving to live there for financial reasons.

It is called the El Dorado of Portuguese emigration and the data justify it. Since 2006 the number of Portuguese in Angola has not stopped: at the end of October 2011 there were 97,616 registered at the two consulated in the country, compared to 45,000 in 2005. That is, in six years the number has doubled. The actual number is naturally greater than this as not every Portuguese citizen registers with the consulate upon arrival. The majority of emigrants go on contracts, for periods ranging from three to five years.

Remittances have also increased. In 2010, 134 874 euros were sent from Angola to Portugal. In 2005 this number was 23 354 euros. Angola is expected to grow by 12% in 2012, while Portugal is expecting a contraction of 2.8% in its GDP. Roles are also reversed: in November, the prime minister Pedro Passos Coelho said that his government would look "very favorably" towards Angolan investment in Portugal.

Read more...

How Angola's booming economy is helping Portugal

Part of a particularly interesting article in German here on how Angola's booming economy has been a boon to Portuguese citizens who have either moved there to work or do business with the country:

More and more Portuguese are seeking their fortune in the former colony of Angola. While Portugal has until May to be rescued from bankruptcy with 78 billion euros from the EU and the IMF, the economy of oil-rich Angola is showing double-digit growth rates. In 2006 just 156 visas were given to Portuguese citizens. Now, however, the economic boom in Angola is bringing Portuguese university graduates and skilled workers in droves to the former colony. Meanwhile, 100 000 Portuguese citizens have settled there, a number four times that of the number of Angolan immigrants in Portual.

After the 27-year civil war in Angola, there is a great need for roads, telecommunications, utilities and finance. Professionals are needed, and Portuguese speakers are preferred. Having a common language is not the only appeal to a Portuguese worker in Angola - a Portuguese engineer working in Angola makes four times as much as one in Portugal.

The Angolan GDP has increased by more than 400% over the past six years. In comparison, the Portuguese GDP shrunk by 2.2% this year. Naturally, Angola has been building itself up from the ground since 2002 after the civil war, while Portugual remains an industrialized country in spite of its recent difficulties.

Read more...

Portugal analyzing Equatorial Guinea's application to the CPLP

Portugal is thinking:

Prime Minister Pedro Passos Coelho said today in Luanda that his government is "open" to considering Equatorial Guinea's application to the CPLP, the association of Portuguese language countries.

In a joint press conference with the president of Angola (José Eduardo dos Santos), he acknowledged the application and stressed that "Equatorial Guinea has a great importance in the region for the Portuguese language...we know about the commitment to adopt Portuguese as an official language and we note the statement of intent that their government made regarding the implementation of values and conditions of the CPLP."

Domingos Simoes Pereira of the CPLP said last May that it would be desirable to get some progress for Equatorial Guinea's application, specifically the introduction of the Portuguese language in the system of education, and the fulfillment of human rights.

Read more...

A bit more on China and Angola

Coincidentally this afternoon I came across an entire BBC documentary on the increasing Chinese influence in Africa, and it begins in Angola:



The video has subtitles as well so if English is your L2 (or L3, L4...) you'll have an easier time understanding it.

Dem Rep Congo is, of course, completely surreal as always.

Read more...

Namibia to introduce Portuguese in the curriculum next year (2012)

An article from here in Portuguese, yet another of a great many I have chosen to shine a spotlight on showing how local demand nearly always trumps international prestige when it comes to learning languages. Another one from 2009 was about Zambia (sandwiched between Angola and Mozambique) doing the same thing.

This population map of Namibia shows how much more concentrated the population is in the north (near Angola).

Portuguese will be an optional subject in education in Namibia starting in 2012, and Portugal will train teachers and give support and technical assistance to them.

The announcement to introduce the Portuguese language in the official system of education in Namibia was done by the Minster of Education for the country, who justified the move due to the country's proximity to Angola and Mozambique, and the growing interest amongst Namibians to learn Portuguese in order to better integrate with these countries in diplomatic, business and cultural spheres.

"The government is simply responding to the demand, as was the case with German and French", said Toivo Mvula, spokesman for the Minister of Education.

The Instituto Camões will also provide textbooks and other bibliographic materials such as dictionaries, during the initial phase of introducing Portuguese to the curriculum as an optional language.

This will have a significant impact in the north of Namibia which shares a border with Angola, and where Portuguese is more or less the lingua franca of trade.

Read more...

Angolese students blame bad teaching for poor Portuguese language skills

From here in Portuguese:

The lack of rigor in the system of education and teaching in public institutions is the main Achilles heel......Angolans have trouble with conjugating verbs in the conjunctive...the Voice of America investigated some institutions of public education, where students showed difficulties in conjugating the verb dar (give) in the present subjunctive..."It's not our fault. We don't learn to conjugate verbs, and our teachers are to blame for this."

The article ends with a Latin phrase: "Errare humanum est, sed perseverare in malo periculosum est" - "To err is human, but to remain in error is dangerous."

Read more...

Lusophone (Portuguese) military exercise in Angola

Some news on Portuguese but in Spanish here today:

Armed forces of Lusophone states will have a joint military exercise on the 19th and 28th this month, in Cabo Ledo in Angola, in the province of Bengo near the capital.


View Larger Map

The Deputy Chief of the Staff of the Angolese Armed Forces, general Abreu Muengo, said in an interview that the training is part of operations to help aid and humanitarian aid in crisis situations. He said that over 1000 soldiers would participate in the exercises, 850 of which would be Angolese, and the rest from Brazil, Cape Verde, Guinea Bissau, Mozambique, Portugal, Sao Tome e Principe, and East Timor.

Read more...

Trade between China and Portuguese language countries grows 45.07% from January 2010 to January 2011

An article from here in Portuguese:

Trade between China and Portuguese language countries grew by 45.07% in January compared to the same month one year prior (2010), to 8.31 billion dollars, according to data from the Chinese Department of Customs in Macau.

Over the year, China imported $5.41 billion from the eight Portuguese language countries and sold goods worth $2.9 billion.

Brazil was the largest trading partner of the Portuguese language countries with bilateral commerce reaching $5.98 billion, with Brazil acquiring $2.31 billion worth of goods from China and selling $3.67 billion to China.

Angola was in second place with trade reaching $1.91 billion (6.1% less than in January 2010), and Portugal was in third place with trade between China totaling $338 million.

Read more...

French podcast on the status of the Portuguese language in Africa

Here's an interesting podcast in French of about 26 minutes in length on the status of the Portuguese language in Africa, specifically in Guinea-Bissau, Cabo Verde, Angola and Mozambique. Actually, I think I can embed it here...

There we go. It's all spoken so I was only able to jot down a few notes while listening. They are:

Guinea-Bissau is the place where Portuguese is weakest, as very few speak it fluently, even in government. They have a Portuguese creole there, used a lot but without a written standard so it's spoken only. Apparently the negative is often formed with ka.

Cabo Verde has a Portuguese creole too, which apparently is closer to standard Portuguese than that in Guinea-Bissau.

Portuguese in Angola is quite strong, and there are four regional languages that receive support/approval from the government too. Some 75% of the population speaks Portuguese.

Mozambique is where Portuguese is the strongest, and schools etc. are all in Portuguese. I have a post here from last month with a lot more information on how much Portuguese is used there - apparently it's used for 90% of urban communication there.

Read more...

On increased Portuguese and Brazilian investment in Angola

The Financial Times has an article here from two days ago on Portuguese investment in Angola (another Portuguese-speaking nation, along with Mozambique to the east) which is an interesting read for anyone interested in the relationship between language (and shared history due to colonialism) and economic cooperation. Outside of the oil sector Portugal is the single largest foreign investor in Angola, extremely high considering that Portugal only accounts for 1.3% of the GDP of the EU alone.

The number of Portuguese living in Angola has also doubled over the past three years to about 100,000.


View Larger Map

Read more...

Official talks between the delegations of Angola and East Timor

When you have talks between ministers from Angola and East Timor they're conducted in Portuguese, so that's what this article is about (though it's written in French). Here's what it says:

The official delegations of Angola and East Timor, led by their respective prime ministers, Antónia Paulo Kassoma and Xanama Gusmão, began Tuesday in the afternoon, with the talks aimed at strengthening cooperation between the two countries.

...

Arriving last Sunday for a working visit of six days, the Timorese chief executive left a wreath of flowers Tuesday at the monument of the former Angolan President Agostinho Neto in Independence Place in Luanda, before being received by President José Eduardo dos Santos.

According to the program, Xanana Gusmão, also the Minister of Defence of his country, will participate over the 27th and 28th of May in the 11th meeting of Defence Ministers of Portuguese Language Countries (CPLP).

Read more...