On the final day, the trade mission, under the sponsorship of Grupo Valentim Amoes, went to Huambo where the group toured the city; visited the industrial zone and Agricultural College and Research Station; and met with provincial authorities. On a personal note, it was interesting to see the changes in Huambo since I last visited the city three years ago. More cars, motorcycles, and people were circulating on the streets. Solar-powered stoplights had been installed at busy intersections. Many new shops were open and were opening every day. The industrial zone was reviving; the motorcycle assembly plant and Coca Cola bottling plant were especially impressive.
 

Perhaps most dramatic were the changes at the Agricultural College and Research Station. Buildings and classrooms had been rehabilitated and equipped. Over 600 students were enrolled taught by more than 50 professors, of which almost one-third had PhDs. The Government of Angola and Chevron are to be commended for their strong support in making the college a thriving institution, which will have a long-term impact on the economic development of the region. Another major boost to the local economy will occur when the Benguela railroad links Huambo to the coast.
 

The Chamber is deeply grateful to all of the sponsors who made the Trade Mission/Business Symposium possible. They include the three underwriters – BP, Chevron, and ExxonMobil – and the event sponsors – PRODIAMAN, BESA, ValleySoft, BAI, BPC, MITC, and Grupo Valentim Amoes. And, of course, we appreciate our members who attended the Business Symposium and our partner who helped to make it happen, -- the Angola Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
 

The Chamber continued its working group meetings on Angola. In addition to the session on elections in July noted in the last report, the working group met with the Minister of Public Works, Higino Carneiro, and the Minister of Transportation, Luis Brandão, in September. The ministers described the projects that the government was undertaking to rehabilitate the road and rail systems, ports, and airports in the country. They stressed the assistance Angola was receiving from a number of countries – China, Brazil, Portugal, Israel, Spain, Germany, among others – in this major reconstruction effort. The needs, however, were enormous – 2000 bridges, for example, were mentioned – and required major financing agreements beyond that offered by China and other countries. The ministers lamented that an international donors conference had not materialized following the end of the war and expressed the hope that more assistance would be forthcoming from the United States.
 

At the beginning of November, Charles McPherson, Senior Advisor for Oil and Gas at the World Bank, briefed the working group on the petroleum management workshops that the World Bank had organized in Luanda in April. Some of the main points made at the workshops were the need for transparent information on petroleum revenues; the importance of improving financial administration capacity within the public sector; the need to smooth expenditures to contain inflation; and to establish spending priorities emphasizing high return infrastructure projects and social expenditures. McPherson also noted that the government has been publishing detailed oil revenue statistics, which show oil revenues by bloc, month, and quarter, -- a record that compares favorably to other countries. Although Angola is not a signatory to the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI), McPherson said that Angola met most of the criteria established by EITI. For example, Angola goes far beyond what is required in having qualified independent audits of oil revenues, which are published though not easily accessible on the Internet. The government recognized the need to improve in this area. At the EITI meeting in Oslo in October, the Deputy Minister of Finance, Job Graca, described the steps Angola was taking to improve its management of oil revenues but indicated that Angola would retain at present its observer status with the association.
 

The final working group meeting was held at the Angolan Embassy in December with Pedro Vaz Pinto, who has spearheaded the effort to find the Giant Black Sable, a national symbol of Angola. Pinto received a prestigious international award for his work on this project. A separate report on his presentation is included in this edition of the Angola Report.
 

Finally, I would like to thank our small but exceptionally capable staff for making 2006 so successful. They are Liliana de Sousa, our representative in Angola; Paula Morais, her assistant; and Maria da Cruz, Deputy Executive Director. And, of course, special thanks to all of our members and sponsors who helped to make this 15^th anniversary year a high water mark for the Chamber.