Topic: Promoting Sustainable Industry in the Developing World
Country: Angola
Delegate Name: Ian Savas
School: Roeper School
Topic page: background guide and all position papers All Angola position papers GLIMUN 2008 committees
On November 11, 1975 the Portuguese granted Angola its independence. Just after the Portuguese left, rival local leaders made a claim for power, sparking a longstanding civil war. This left the country in ruin from 1975 to 2002. On February 22, 2002 a peace treaty was signed ending the civil war. The economy in the country of Angola is on a rise after the civil war. Angola has the seconded fastest growing economy in Africa, and one of the fastest in the world. Angola has seen a growth in its economy, 18% in 2005, 26% in 2006 and 17.6% in 2007. These numbers are steadily increasing and benefiting our country.
The economy is largely based on the development of the oil industry. We produce 1.4 billion barrels of oil a day, this is steadily increasing. OPEC officially accepted Angola as member in December of 2006. Due to the boom in oil, the country’s annual profit has more than doubled in three years. While much of Angola’s oil is produced onshore, a growing percentage is pumped from offshore platforms. If restrictions were placed on offshore drilling, Angola’s economy could dramatically suffer. With unnecessary restrictions, Angola could lose all economic stability.
Angola has undertaken offshore drilling using some of the latest global technologies. Our nation places a premium on environmentally efficient practices, as one of our leading non-agricultural means of livelihood is fishing. It would not be in the economic interest of Angola to ruin its fisheries in the pursuit of greater oil. At the same time, Angola rejects any attempt to limit or restrict offshore oil drilling, which should be controlled by the authorities of the host nation, not internationally mandated.
