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A truck from Angola's main oil company Sonangol. The crash in commodity prices has pushed the oil-reliant nation to halve its growth figures and adjust its 2016 budget.

These are: Angola, Mozambique, Guinea Bissau, Cape Verde, Equatorial Guinea and Sao Tome e Principe.

Bank staff will receive training in Portuguese and its standard project procurement and financial management documents will be translated into the language. 

AfDB president Akinwumi Adesina said: “What we are talking about here has a cultural, linguistic, political and economic perspective. I believe Portugal will play a key role in bringing about greater integration.”

Portugal’s foreign secretary Teresa Ribeirosaid explained: “What we want to achieve with the African Development Bank is a very ambitious programme that responds to critical issues. The countries need the compact to enable investors.”

The bank said it hoped that the historical, cultural and linguistic links between these countries and Portugal and Brazil would help stimulate economic ties, private-sector business growth and trade opportunities.

Adesina said de-risking instruments were planned to help attract private investors to the Portuguese-speaking African countries and stressed the crucial role the private sector could play in enhancing growth.