Mozambique at U.S.-Africa Business Summit: There are reasons to accelerate the pace

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Mozambique at U.S.-Africa Business Summit: There are reasons to accelerate the pace

11:51 CAT | 14 Jun 2017

Notícias

Accelerating the implementation of agreements already reached on the exploitation of natural gas in the Rovuma basin will be decisive if Mozambique is not to lose out on the opportunities the international market for this resource currently offers.

So says chairman of ENH’s board of directors, Omar Mitha, who is part of the Mozambican delegation participating in the United States-Africa biennial summit which starts today in Washington.

President of Mozambique Filipe Nyusi arrived in Washington early yesterday morning to attend the meeting and fulfil an agenda of economic and political diplomacy, and went straight into a series of meetings that lasted until the end of the day.

President Nyusi told the business delegation accompanying him, as he did the North American investor community in a similar meeting in Washington later, that he would take advantage of all scheduled meetings to talk about the readiness of Mozambican entrepreneurs to work in partnerships that enable business in Mozambique.

One of the president’s most important meetings yesterday was with U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, who was one of the promoters of the entry of the American company Exxon in the Rovuma natural gas business.

ENH chairman Omar Mitha said that, at a time when the supply of natural gas on the international market is plentiful, Mozambique needs to ensure that the pace is of projects operated by the U.S. company Anadarko in the Rovuma Basin is accelerated but, above all else, there must be a balance between the interests of both parties.

“Our vision is that everything depending on the government or Anadarko in this project is discussed and settled quickly. But more important is that Mozambique finds benefits for itself, like, for example, the industrialisation of the Palma peninsula and greater access to the infrastructure that is being developed for the project,” Mitha said.

Mithá also announced that Exxon had won tenders for the concession of the Angoche and Zambézia blocks, and that negotiations were underway to bring their interests closer together.

“Let’s find areas of agreement. Sometimes it is only a matter of language, because sometimes there are reservations about stability, although Mozambique has no history of turbulence in post-election periods. However, since this is Exxon’s first experience in Mozambique, it is only natural that those concerns need to be addressed and overcome without jeopardising the projects,” he explained.

In relation to Block Four, Mitha said that the language from now on must be action because, he warned, cost slippage could undermine the project model.

President Nyusi will today participate in the official opening of the US-Africa biennial summit and a meeting with business people from the agricultural and agro-business areas. Meetings with U.S. multinational companies including Exxon Mobil, Caterpillar, Mosanto, Anadarko and agricultural equipment manufacturer John Deere are also scheduled.

Source: Noticias