Sweden to invest US$115 million in Mozambique

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Sweden to invest US$115 million in Mozambique

11:40 CAT | 09 Nov 2017

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Sweden announced yesterday that it would invest $ 115 million in Mozambique in the areas of energy production, agriculture, social projects and initiatives related to human rights.

The announcement was made by the Secretary of State for International Cooperation and Development of the Kingdom of Sweden, Eva Maria Modéer, who is visiting the country.

Modéer said that in the framework of bilateral cooperation, Sweden had been talking to the Mozambican government in order to overcome the financial challenges the country is currently facing.

“We have a longstanding relationship and we will continue to work with Mozambique. We have had further discussions about the financial challenges facing the country and the importance of re-entering the International Monetary Fund (IMF) funding programs,” Modéer said.

Nyeleti Mondlane, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, said that Modéer’s intervention would boost and strengthen the existing bilateral relationship between the parties.

“We will continue to cooperate and we are very grateful because Sweden is a country that invests not only in infrastructure development projects but also in social areas which are crucial for the human development of our country,” the Mozambican official said.

The meeting between the two officials also served to review the history of cooperation in relation to public and private partnerships developed by the countries. The electrification of Mozambique, the development of agriculture, democracy and the promotion of human rights are some of the areas in which Mozambique has enjoyed support from the Swedish government. In June 2015, the Swedish government approved a new development cooperation strategy between Sweden and Mozambique for the 2015-2020 period.

The visit of the Secretary of State for International Cooperation and Development of the Kingdom of Sweden to the country falls within the scope of the evaluation of the diplomatic relations between the two countries and will last until this Friday.

Sweden reiterates that it will not support state budget

Sweden reiterated yesterday that it would not support the state budget directly as long as Mozambique has not clarified the case of “hidden debts.” Sweden’s Secretary of State for International Development and Development, Eva Maria Modéer, said Sweden had funded the Kroll audit, but the country needed to do its part to regain trust from the partners.

At a press conference following a lecture on democracy at Eduardo Mondlane University, Modéer said that the Swedish government expected openness from the Mozambican authorities in investigations into public debt. The State Secretary for International Cooperation and Development of the country that financed the audit of public debts also said that it was up to Mozambique to comply with the recommendations of the IMF and so regain confidence and consequent support to the general state budget.

Source: O País