Angola's partnership with the EU is based on the ACP-EU Cotonou Partnership Agreement which aims to reduce poverty by developing the Angolan economy and gradually integrating it into the global economy.

The Joint Way Forward promotes more active political cooperation, especially Angola's active involvement in the different regional and multilateral fora, and prioritises key areas of common interest from the 2007 Joint Africa-EU Strategy (security, governance, human rights, economic growth, energy, transport, environment, science and technology, training and education).