Main Page | See live article | Alphabetical index From 1975 to 1989, Angola was aligned with the Soviet Union and Cuba. Since then, it has focused on improving relationships with Western countries, cultivating links with other Portuguese-speaking countries, and asserting its own national interests in Central Africa through military and diplomatic intervention. In 1993, it established formal diplomatic relations with the United States. It has entered the Southern African Development Community as a vehicle for improving ties with its largely anglophone neighbors to the south. Zimbabwe and Namibia joined Angola in its military intervention in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, where Angolan troops remain in support of the Joseph Kabila government. It also has intervened in the Republic of the Congo (Brazzaville) to support the existing government in that country. Since 1998, Angola has successfully worked with the UN Security Council to impose and carry out sanctions on UNITA. More recently, it has extended those efforts to controls on conflict diamonds, the primary source of revenue for UNITA. At the same time, Angola has promoted the revival of the Community of Portuguese-Speaking Countries (CPLP) as a forum for cultural exchange and expanding ties with Portugal and Brazil in particular. Disputes - international: gives shelter to thousands of refugees from the Democratic Republic of the Congo while thousands of Angolan refugees still remain in neighboring states as a consequence of the protracted civil wars in both states Illicit drugs: used as a transshipment point for cocaine destined for Western Europe and other African states Reference Much of the material in this article comes from the CIA World Factbook 2003 and the 2003 U.S. Department of State website. This article is from Wikipedia. All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License.