LUANDA: Angola's participation at the G8 Summit taking place from July 8 to 10 in L'Aquila, Italy is a "very important and prestigious" mark for the southwestern African country, US Ambassador Dan Mozena said here on Monday.

The US diplomat told reporters that Angola is invited to the G8 Summit not only because of its chairmanship of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), but because of its fast socio-economic growth rates being recorded in recent years.

According to Angola's official statistics, the past few years have witnessed an average of two-digit growth of its gross domestic product (GDP), with the per-capita GDP increasing to over US$3,000 in 2008, hitting an all time high.

The US official also said that Angola and some other important African countries are invited to the summit in order for the G8 to work jointly with them with a view to solving the global financial crisis and other problems affecting the world.

"It is a very important opportunity for Angola to be assisted in diversifying its economic and relaunch itself," he added.

Apart from Angola, the other African countries invited to the summit are South Africa, Algeria, Egypt, Nigeria and Senegal.