Watch – Presidents of Mozambique and Turkey want to deepen economic cooperation

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Watch – Presidents of Mozambique and Turkey want to deepen economic cooperation

3:32 CAT | 25 Jan 2017

Mozambican president Filipe Nyusi and Turkey’s Recep Tayyip Erdogan proposed closer economic cooperation between their two countries in Maputo on Tuesday, noting that ties between the two countries remain small in the face of the large amount of potential present.

Presidents Nyusi and Erdogan pointed to the need to strengthen economic relations between the two countries in press statements at the end of the talks between the Mozambican and Turkish delegations, which took place during the Turkish head of state’s two-day to the country.

“Beyond political and diplomatic cooperation, there is economic cooperation. There will be concrete actions to work out in detail, but we must increase economic relations,” the Mozambican president said.

Noting that last year only 30 Turkish investment projects went forward in Mozambique, President Nyusi described economic and commercial ties as still insignificant.

Nyusi said that the visit of Recep Tayyip Erdogan would serve to boost bilateral cooperation to a higher level, citing agriculture, energy, infrastructure, health and education as areas rich with possibilities for both countries.

“Turkey has much to offer in the technological and technical sectors; it can make contributions to cooperation resulting in mutual advantage,” President Erdogan said.

The Turkish head of state also considers the current level of economic cooperation with Mozambique unsatisfactory, saying his country’s expected to increase trade to US$500 million (EUR 464 million) per annum in the short term against the US$103 million bass line achieved in 2016.

“We will explore further investment opportunities and create stronger ties in search of mutually advantageous results,” Recep Tayyip Erdogan said.

Erdogan stressed that the business mission of 150 businesspeople in his entourage was testament to Turkey’s willingness to take a leap forward in economic and trade cooperation with Mozambique.

“We must maintain this proximity to our mutual benefit. We have signed six cooperation agreements and we will meet with the private sector further,” Erdogan said.

Maputo and Ankara yesterday signed economic and trade cooperation agreements, agreements regarding promotion and protection of investments, tourism and culture, and the removal of visa requirements for diplomatic staff and political consultations.

Although the two heads of state have repeatedly expressed the need for cooperation in the economic field, the statement to the press was noteworthy for Erdogan’s statement that people allegedly involved in the attempted coup in Turkey have a wide network of institutions in Mozambique, asking local authorities for support in their neutralization.

“We know that members of this group [allegedly involved in the attempted coup] are present in Mozambique, have infiltrated the Turkish Armed Forces and are replicating their initiative, their hidden agenda, in various parts of the world. They have a vast network of schools and associations in various parts of the world and they have a very broad network here in Mozambique,” Recep Tayyip Erdogan said at the end of the talks between the Turkish and Mozambican delegations.

Image result for nyusi erdogan maputo

Alongside the strengthening of economic and trade relations, the neutralization of people the Turkish government accuses of being loyal to Muslim leader Fethullah Gulen, whom Ankara accuses of instigating the attempted coup last July, has been one of the central themes of Erdogan’s current visit to Mozambique, Tanzania and Madagascar.

Source: Lusa / TRT World