The Angolan government has asked China for financial aid to pay for the training of its armed forces, Angop reports.

The Angolan news agency says the request was disclosed at a meeting in Luanda of a Sino-Angolan committee that deals with matters to do with science, technology and the defence industry.

The report quotes an official of the Angolan Defence Ministry, Afonso Carlos Neto, as saying the money would be spent on training programmes and the necessary equipment and infrastructure.

A Chinese official, Xu Zhanbin, told the meeting that his country was willing to co-operate to strengthen the Sino-Angolan relationship, Angop says.