Luanda, Angola, 31 March – The Angolan economy has posted an average rate of growth of 9.6 percent for the period 1989 to 2007 and has registered growth of 92.4 percent in real terms for the period 2004 to 2007, said the Economy Minister Monday in Luanda.

Manuel Júnior, speaking at the opening of the Angola-Netherlands Economic Business Forum, said that the Angolan economy was among the world’s most growing, following the consolidation of political stability.

According to the minister, quoted by Angolan news agency, Angop, the results show that in only four years “the GDP has almost doubled, which is remarkable as it corresponds to an average annual real growth rate of approximately 17.8 percent.

Emphasizing the results of the diversification of the Angolan economy, Manuel Júnior told the Dutch businesspeople that since 2006, the “non-oil GDP has grown faster than the oil one, which is a positive sign.”

The minister also referred to the national currency (the kwanza) having remained stable, playing more effectively its role as a trade and reserve value.

“Following the period of hyper-inflation, which reached an accumulated rate of 3000 percent in 1996, the country has been registering inflation rates of close to 10 percent in recent years, for example 12.2 percent in 2006, 11.79 percent in 2007 and 12.8 percent in 2008,” he added.

The Economy Minister assured that, although slowed down by the global financial crisis, the Angolan economy would continue to grow in 2009 in a climate of stability and at a rate of over 3 percent (the population growth rate). (macauhub)