Mozambique: President wants raw material processing done in-country, as in Indonesia

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Mozambique: President wants raw material processing done in-country, as in Indonesia

11:15 CAT | 24 Aug 2023

Photo: Cabinet Secretariat of the Republic of Indonesia on Twitter

Mozambique’s president, Filipe Nyusi, on Wednesday admitted the possibility of the country following the example set by his Indonesian counterpart and banning the export of some minerals, forcing them to be processed locally.

“It’s an experience that should be capitalised on. Of course it takes time to create these bases, but with a little more courage it can be done, and done very well. And we have products, not just minerals, but others, that could start to be banned from export, so that they can be made here, in Mozambique,” said Filipe Nyusi, speaking at the Presidency Office, together with his Indonesian counterpart, Joko Widodo, whom he received in Maputo.

The Mozambican head of state said that Widodo “is a very visionary president, who in a very short time has managed to revolutionise his country and make it part of the five economies in the region where the country is located,” saying that this is one of the experiences that Mozambique can learn from Indonesia.

“In his country, he banned the export of nickel, bauxite and copper. It’s not exported, there’s no one who can dig it up and export it. It’s excavated and processed there. And I asked him how many companies he had managed to set up there. He told me that more than 48 new companies have sprung up, industries, so as to be able to process these products and at the same time provide employment for many people,” he emphasised.

The two heads of state met on Wednesday morning at the Presidency Office, as part of the visit by Joko Widodo, the first President of the Republic of Indonesia to visit the African country, and then attended the signing between the two governments of a memorandum of understanding on the control of medicines and biological products, involving the respective regulatory authorities, as well as a letter of intent on cooperation in the field of defence.

Presiden @jokowi melaksanakan pertemuan bilateral dengan Presiden Republik Mozambik Filipe Nyusi di Kantor Presiden Republik Mozambik, Maputo, Republik Mozambik, pada Rabu (23/08/2023).#PotretKabinet
Foto: BPMI Setpres pic.twitter.com/tqVIPinqfc

— Sekretariat Kabinet (@setkabgoid) August 23, 2023

“We’ve decided that we’re going to create a joint force, a task force, which will work from now on in concrete areas, above all what our brothers know how to do and what we know or have that we can do together,” also announced Filipe Nyusi.

This working group will explore areas such as industrialisation, gas exploration and distribution, fisheries and even medical tests, with the export of Mozambican cotton to Indonesia for this purpose.

In his speech, Joko Widodo pointed out that Mozambique is Indonesia’s “first partner” in Africa, whose trade continues to grow, and argued that it is necessary to “optimise” the “preferential” agreement that already exists between the two countries.

On the table, he said, is the possibility of Indonesia selling locomotives to Mozambique, but Joko Widodo also said that the two countries would work on a reciprocal investment protection agreement.

Before this meeting, the Indonesian president accompanied Filipe Nyusi to Matola in the morning for the opening ceremony of Mozambique’s National Culture Festival, with the participation of 1,500 artists from various fields from all over the country.

“Like Mozambique, Indonesia is home to a cultural diversity where people respect each other’s differences,” said Mr Widodo.

The Indonesian president arrived in Maputo on Tuesday for a two-day working visit. On Monday he made a state visit to Kenya and met with his Kenyan counterpart, William Ruto, in Nairobi, after which he left for Tanzania and then Mozambique.

Joko Widodo is attending the BRICS-Africa Outreach and BRICS Plus Dialogue meeting in Johannesburg, this Thursday.

#BRICS Arrival of Indonesian President H.E. Mr Joko Widodo, at @ortambo_int, ahead of the #BRICSAfrica meeting.

📸: Yandisa Monakali / #DIRCO pic.twitter.com/jetAH0fkl3

— DIRCO South Africa (@DIRCO_ZA) August 24, 2023

Lawatan saya ke Mozambik kemarin terasa lebih spesial. Presiden Filipe Nyusi mengundang saya menghadiri National Festival of Culture Mozambik di Lapangan Asosiasi Black Bulls, Maputo.

Festival budaya nasional ini diselenggarakan setiap tahun di Mozambik dan tahun ini diikuti… pic.twitter.com/yPOWnbHbun

— Joko Widodo (@jokowi) August 24, 2023

Source: Lusa