Mozambique: Maputo and Gaborone to strengthen energy and transport cooperation

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Mozambique: Maputo and Gaborone to strengthen energy and transport cooperation

12:26 CAT | 25 May 2016

Notícias / Ian Khama, president of Botswana (L), and Filipe Nyusi, president of Mozambique (R)

Mozambique and Botswana want to strengthen bilateral cooperation in the energy and transport sectors, the two governments said, as a state visit by President Ian Khama began on Monday in Maputo.

Mozambican Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation Oldemiro Baloi told a press conference following a meeting of the two countries delegations that the two governments had signed an agreement in the area of geology and mines that would help Mozambique learn from Botswana’s long experience in the area.

“Botswana is a power in this area [geology and mining], and Mozambique wants to learn from it,” Balói said, without advancing details of the agreement but stressing that Mozambique stood out as a country with “a lot of potential in the area of natural resources”.

According to the Foreign Minister, “the ambition is to strengthen cooperation” and, to that end, objectives and time limits have been set.

In reply, the Minister of the Presidency for Social Affairs and Public Administration of Botswana, Eric Molale, expressed his wish to strengthen cooperation in the areas of transport, highlighting the importance of Mozambique’s geographical location, with direct access to the Indian Ocean.

“Botswana is a landlocked country and it is in our interest to take advantage of the geographical location of Mozambique to have access to the sea,” said the official, noting that relations between the two countries have a long history.

In addition to the agreement on geology and mining, the first day of Ian Khama’s three-day visit saw the signing of a memorandum foreseeing the construction of a Samora Machel Museum in Botswana honouring the life and work of Mozambique’s first president, who passed through Botswana during the liberation struggle.

Source: Angop