Maputo, 5 May (AIM) – The British High Commissioner to Mozambique, Helen Lewis, announced on Thursday in Maputo that trade between Mozambique and the United Kingdom may reach 400 million pounds (about 505 million dollars) in the next few years.
In 2022, the volume of trade between the two countries reached 220 million pounds, driven particularly by renewable energy, agriculture and mining.
“We expect that these trade exchanges could double in the next three years. British companies are some of the main employers and taxpayers in Mozambique, with around 400,000 Mozambicans in the agro-industrial sector alone”, said Helen Lewis, during a Mozambique-UK Business Forum in Maputo.
The high commissioner recognised the enormous energy potential that Mozambique has, stating that it could transform the country into one of the largest energy producers in the world.
Lewis revealed that a project, named Shine led, by the Dutch Development Organization (SNV) is under way throughout the country, which aims to ensure access to energy to 1.8 million citizens.
Budgeted at 24.6 million pounds, the project is funded by UKAID and ASDI, representing the commitment of the UK and Sweden to the Energy Africa Campaign in Mozambique.
For his part, the Minister of Mineral Resources and Energy, Carlos Zacarias, highlighted the importance of the UK, which currently ranks third on the list of Mozambique’s largest partners in Europe.
“The competitive capacity of the United Kingdom in terms of capital, technology and experience offers a privileged partnership to Mozambique”, he said. “This country is the third largest in Europe in terms of our exports and the cooperation has grown in the last five years with 45 projects valued at 323 million dollars”.
He mentioned that Mozambique’s exports to the UK have grown considerably. “In the last five years, our trade balance with the United Kingdom has been favourable to Mozambique, having registered a remarkable growth in total exports, standing at 2,299.6 million dollars against 567.4 million dollars in imports. It also presents elasticity and an enormous space for diversification and balanced growth of our investment and trade portfolio”, he said.
Zacarias expressed his appreciation for the British entrepreneurs and investors based in Mozambique which have contributed to economic and social development through wealth creation, income generation and employment.
He emphasized that Mozambique’s strategic location should be seen as an entry point for investors in the southern region of Africa and the continent.
The Minister took the opportunity to invite British business people to participate in the Maputo International Trade Fair (FACIM), as a unique opportunity to exhibit their products.
(AIM)
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