"The Summit will be an important milestone in the relations" between Portugal and Mozambique

"On all fronts – political cooperation, military cooperation in counter-terrorism, cooperation for developing health or education, or in economic relations – this 5th Summit will be a very important milestone in our relations" claimed Prime Minister António Costa at the Press Conference with the Mozambican President Filipe Nyusi, at the end of the summit between the two countries in Maputo.

António Costa underlined that "during this summit we boosted the amount under the 2022-2026 Strategic Cooperation Programme, which funds the strategic partnership between Mozambique and Portugal, and which will have a rise of 40%, to be higher than 90 million euros".

The programme "will focus on the traditional areas of sovereignty – defence, justice, home affairs" and will "deepen cooperation on the strategic areas of education and health", he said, indicating "signing the agreement to solve the tax issues of the Portuguese school in Mozambique" which "is a decisive step".

The Prime Minister also noted that the Strategic Cooperation Programme "also contains Portugal’s commitment to back the Mozambican Strategic Education Plan and invest in technical vocational teaching", highlighting two protocols to be signed that "reinforce the development potential in the Cabo Delgado region, by setting up a research centre for gas and petroleum and a vocational training programme in gas for 1200 youths, which means we are also fighting terrorism by developing the region".

This programme, created under the European Union framework, has an allocation of 4.2 million euros. Under the Summit, agreements will be signed with Portuguese companies, namely Galp and Mota Engil, to back this project and make available the technical resources for vocational training.

Corporate investment

António Costa also said that "our future includes strengthening our economic ties" and for this "we will revise and modernise two instruments to support corporate investment in Mozambique: the Corporate Fund for Cooperation and the Specific Corporate Investment Programme in Mozambique". 

And the "Portuguese-Speaking Compact will be signed with the African Development Bank, whereby Portugal will offer 400 million euros in guarantees for the Bank to finance investments in Portuguese-speaking countries".

The Portuguese-speaking Compact is an initiative launched by the African Development Bank and the Portuguese Government at the end of 2017 to fund the projects in Portuguese-speaking countries with the ADB’s financial assistance and the guarantees of the Portuguese state, which ensure that the cost of financing is lower and with less risk.

The initiative’s main goal is to increase development in the private sector in the six Portuguese-speaking African countries – Angola, Guinea-Bissau, Cape Verde, Mozambique, São Tomé e Príncipe and Equatorial Guinea – via three instruments: risk mitigation to unlock investment, direct financing of private investment, and technical assistance to strengthen private sector growth.

The Prime Minister also noted that "following a logic of supporting Mozambique’s effort to diversify its economic basis, the 2022-2025 action plan for agriculture is important, as Mozambique has huge agricultural potential and because humanity is facing a huge food safety challenge".

Political cooperation

António Costa congratulated Mozambique "on the expressive way in which it was elected to the UN Security Council, with 192 votes, almost all votes possible, which is an excellent sign of how the Portuguese-Speaking Community of Countries is an asset for our countries, because it allows us to mobilise the necessary support in the regions where we’re located". 

Indicating the example of António Guterres being elected Secretary-General, he added that "this was how the European Union took a decisive step in countering the terrorism that has ravaged northern Mozambique, a fight to which we have sought to contribute as part of the European Union and bilaterally. We will continue to do so".

In the first half of 2021, during the Portuguese Presidency, the European Union approved sending a European mission to train the special forces in an agreement with the Mozambican Government.

At the same time, Portugal has set up several support lines for projects by NGOs to respond rapidly to the needs felt by the hundreds of thousands of displaced people who are suffering with the terrorist threat in the Cabo Delgado region.

An emergency fund was likewise set up at 1.3 million euros to support the Cabo Delgado region, in partnership with several public administration and private institutions.

Mobility within the Community of Portuguese-Speaking Countries

The Prime Minister also remarked that "to boost the Portuguese-speaking space, today’s Council of Ministers in Portugal approved the law that regulates applying the agreement on mobility within the Community of Portuguese-speaking countries, signed a year ago, with a very simple rule: any citizen from any community country that requests a visa to enter Portugal will be granted this visa immediately, unless there is an expulsion or ban order in the Schengen space".

This "is a decisive step for the excellence of the political and economic cooperation to be reflected in our citizens’ everyday life, which is a project we all cherished", he added.

"Warmth and friendship"

António Costa underlined the "hospitality, warmth and friendship with which Mozambique welcomes us" and President Filipe Nyusi’s availability to change the summit date due to the heat wave and fires that hit Portugal.

The day began with a tribute to the Mozambican heroes, where the Prime Minister deposited a wreath, the military honours upon arrival at the Ponta Vermelha Palace, the meeting between the two Heads of Government, António Costa and Filipe Nyusi, the meeting of the two delegations and the signing of the agreements. 

The following travelled with the Prime Minister: the Ministers of Foreign Affairs, João Gomes Cravinho, National Defence, Helena Carreiras, Agriculture and Food, Maria do Céu Antunes, and the Secretaries of State for Foreign Affairs, Francisco André, Tax Affairs, António Mendonça Mendes, and the Economy, João Neves.