Portugal and Mozambique sign Strategic Cooperation Program – Africa
Portugal and Mozambique signed this Monday a new bilateral Strategic Cooperation Program (PEC) for the period 2022-2026, with an indicative value of 80 million euros, 12 million more than the previous one, which ends this year.
A reinforcement that “means that the work is going well” and that it will reach new areas, said Francisco André, secretary of State for Foreign Affairs and Portuguese Cooperation.
The government official is in Maputo until Thursday for a program that began with the signing of the PEC with the deputy minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation of Mozambique, Manuel Gonçalves.
Education and health will continue to be the areas in which there will be greater investment by Portugal through cooperation entities.
Culture, institutional capacity building, humanitarian aid and resilience activities, along with other sectors, such as cooperation in the area of security, are also part of the plans, in continuation of what has been done and with special attention to the humanitarian crisis in Cabo Slender.
The indicative value of 80 million euros could even go up.
“Just as our authorities, associations, civil society and all partners have this capacity to work: we are available to increase this envelope [financeiro] throughout the term”, said Francisco André.
The financial support serves to “mobilize partnerships”, but not as a direct aid to the Mozambican State Budget (OE), he explained, questioned by Lusa.
“If at any given time I need it, if it is necessary to provide direct support, it will soon be considered”, he referred.
Several partners, namely the European Union (EU) and its countries, formally suspended direct support to the OE in 2016 after discovering the hidden debts of the Mozambican state, worth 2.7 billion dollars, a case which is pending judgment.
On the evolution over the next four years, Francisco André gave new ideas, noting that a strategy foresees the bet on an “economic transition, which is both green and digital” in which the two countries will collaborate.
“In a post-pandemic world, the two countries must make an economic recovery that is fair, that leaves no one behind, and that serves to combat inequality of opportunity,” he added.
In this regard, Francisco André announced a new donation of 200,000 vaccines against covid-19 to Mozambique, with delivery scheduled for December 10 – Portugal has already delivered 547,000 vaccines under its bilateral commitment with the country.
The PEC is “the mainstay of the dialogue between the two countries”, classified Francisco André, alongside Manuel Gonçalves, deputy minister of Mozambican diplomacy, who considered the document as a “reflection of the continuous and consistent relationship” between the two countries .
By financing the actions of various entities for four years, the program will serve to “combat poverty, support development and training”, highlighted Manuel Gonçalves, considering it a document that points to a “sustainable future”.