"We have been waiting 16 years for an agreement like this. We have very high expectations.”

Brazil and Angola’s Paralympic bodies signed a partnership agreement on Tuesday (23 April) at a ceremony in Sao Paulo.

The agreement includes an exchange of Brazilian coaches and athletes with the African country.

Angola will compete at the 2013 Loterias Caixa Brazilian Athletics Open Championships, which begin on Thursday (25 April).

In a ceremony held at a Sao Paulo hotel, Andrew Parsons, IPC Governing Board Member and President of the Brazilian Paralympic Committee (CPB), and Leonel da Rocha Pinto, President of the Angolan Paralympic Committee, formalised the partnership in the presence of athletes from Brazil and Angola and leaders of the African country.

The agreement between the two organisations is primarily geared towards the exchange of information and technical and organizational knowledge.

"Events such as these are good for the Paralympic Movement," emphasised Parsons. "We feel obliged to share the great success we achieved after finishing in seventh place in London 2012 and we will work together with emerging countries, mainly in Africa and South America.”

The plans that have been outlined for this year include the participation of Angolan athletes in the Brazilian competitions of the Caixa Loterias Athletics and Swimming Circuit, and in training weeks.

In June, coaches from Brazil will go to Angola to offer training courses for coaches and other experts in Paralympic sports modalities.

Da Rocha Pinto said that Angola has a lot to learn and the country, celebrating 11 years of peace this month, has a large population of people who were injured during war.

"Brazil is a world reference in terms of adapted sports," said da Rocha Pinto. "And training athletes and coaches is only possible with partnerships.

"We have been waiting 16 years for an agreement like this. We have very high expectations.”

The ceremony was attended by Edilson Alves da Rocha, technical director of the Brazilian Paralympic Committee, Antonio da Luz, Secretary General of the Angolan Paralympic Committee and Marli Romualdo, representing the Ministry of Sports.