Agriculture, tourism, energy and infrastructure are the government’s priorities in Mozambique

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Agriculture, tourism, energy and infrastructure are the government’s priorities in Mozambique

2:24 CAT | 06 Jun 2018

File photo / Minister of Industry and Trade Ragendra de Sousa

The Minister of Industry and Commerce of Mozambique, Ragendra de Sousa, yesterday named agriculture, tourism, energy and infrastructure as the “central priorities of the government”, arguing that Portugal and Mozambique are complementary economies.

“Agriculture, tourism, energy and infrastructure are the priority areas that we have decided on. They are the central priorities of the government. These are areas in which we are confident that there will be economic growth, redistribution of wealth and the building of social peace,” the minister said in Lisbon yesterday.

The intervention, within the framework of the Forum of Opportunities for Investment in Mozambique taking place this week in Portugal, was marked by the closeness of participants and the invitation to Portuguese entrepreneurs to invest in the country with which Portugal has “special relations of affection and proximity”.

The Forum takes place “at a particularly important economic time for Mozambique”, Minister Ragendra said, mentioning the agreements signed with the oil companies Anadarko and Exxon Mobil for the exploitation of the country’s gigantic natural gas reserves.

“Mozambique has signed an agreement with Anadarko this year and we will sign another one with Exxon Mobil in December,” Minister Ragendra said, remarking on the difference in size between these companies and Mozambique.

“Anadarko’s annual sales are 10 times the total domestic product of Mozambique; Exxon Mobil produces 100 times more than Mozambique, so it is with great courage that we dare to sign projects with these giants,” he said, acknowledging all the while that Mozambique remains a poor country.

Speaking directly to the businesspeople filling the auditorium of the Agency for Investment and Foreign Trade of Portugal (AICEP) in Lisbon, Ragendra de Sousa recalled that “Mozambique is closer than Colombia”, from where Portugal imports most of its coal.

“There are millions and millions of hectares of arable land and population density is only four people per football field, but there is a lack of organisation and of entrepreneurs, and that is what we’ve come here looking for,” he concluded.

Source: Lusa