Maputo, 26 Jun (AIM) –Joaquim Chissano, former Mozambican Head of State, believes that the country currently possesses the necessary foundations to drive its development, enabling it to become comparable to developed nations in the coming decades.
According to Chissano – who was speaking on Thursday, in Maputo’s Heroes Square, on the sidelines of the ceremony marking Independence Day – the 51st anniversary of the proclamation of the country’s independence from the Portuguese colonial rule on 25 June 1975 by the late President Samora Machel – the population has a crucial role in building foundations for prosperity.
“We have the foundations that were built by these Mozambican people during these 51 years. The foundations are there. Fifty-one years ago, we did not have these foundations. Now we have a very enlightened youth, a youth that can research, a youth that can innovate”, he said.
“The Mozambican people did not stop working through difficulties, they always worked. They always had hope”, he added.
According to Chissano, “the progress achieved over the last 51 years” reinforces confidence in a more promising future for the country.
“Now we have more hope for a better future, because we have the foundations that were built by these Mozambican people during these 51 years. I am almost certain that 51 years from now we will be a people at the level of other developed nations. This is because we already have the foundations and we have people who want to achieve it,” he stated.
Chissano also called for the strengthening of national unity, considering that the country’s progress depends on the convergence of ideas around common goals. “What we need to continue is to forge greater unity. Not just unity because we are here together, but unity of ideas”, he said.
He also argued that different perspectives must converge to form a common vision capable of driving national development.
(AIM)
PC/ZT/Am
