Mozambique: President asks for Arab investment in farming, EV batteries – Watch

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Mozambique: President asks for Arab investment in farming, EV batteries – Watch

2:44 CAT | 24 Jul 2024

Screen grab: TVM

The president of Mozambique, Filipe Nyusi, on Wednesday, called for Arab investment in the country, giving agriculture, industry and energy as examples, challenging, in particular, the national production of batteries for electric vehicles.

‘Also [EV] battery production. The country has great minerals, graphite for example, in the northern provinces, Cabo Delgado and now in Niassa we’re going to start. These conditions exist, not only for extraction but also for transformation,’ said Nyusi, at the Arab Investment Forum – Mozambique, which kicked off today in Maputo.

Speaking at the opening session, the president highlighted the ‘preponderance’ and ‘growth’ of investment from Arab countries on the continent, specifically in Mozambique, challenging those investors to enter agricultural and industrial production, oil and gas, transport and tourism as key areas for national development.

‘Mobilising Arab investors for high-potential economic sectors in the country and attracting investment for selected projects and promoting investment and establishing strategic business partnerships in the agribusiness, industry, infrastructure, tourism and energy sectors, as well as export opportunities to the Arab market,’ said Nyusi.

The Arab Investment Forum – Mozambique is bringing together Mozambican businesspeople and investors from Arab countries in Maputo until Thursday, in an organisation in which the Arab Bank for Economic Development in Africa (BADEA) is also taking part.

‘To boost investment in renewable energies, especially solar, and strategic mineral resources for battery production. Mozambique is in the best position to produce solar energy, perhaps one of the best spaces in the region,’ said Nyusi in the same speech.

Agriculture is another of the bets that the head of state sees for Arab entrepreneurs, thinking about the national context, the continent and for export: ‘We are preparing this year, in two or three months, to sign an agreement to supply beans to China and the quantities are enormous. This means that we need to produce to sustain this interest.’

On the same occasion, the president of BADEA, Sidi Ould Tah, recalled that in 50 years of cooperation, the institution has already financed projects and actions in that African country to the tune of 600 million dollars (553 million euros), in various areas, and is seeking at this forum ‘to explore ways and means of attracting Arab investors to take advantage of the main investment opportunities in Mozambique’.

‘The Arab Investment Forum in Mozambique is just a starting point for a long journey that we will take together to bring more investment to this beautiful country,’ said Sidi Ould Tah.

Source: Lusa / TVM