Africa-Press – Mozambique. Portugal and Mozambique on Monday signed a new bilateral Strategic Cooperation Programme (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.
This increase “means that the work is going well,” and that it will reach new areas, said Francisco André, Portugal’s Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, in Maputo until Thursday for a programme that began with the signing of the PEC with the Mozambican deputy minister for Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, Manuel Gonçalves.
Education and health will continue to be the areas in which Portugal will invest most, via the various bodies involved in cooperation.
Culture, institutional capacity building, humanitarian aid and resilience activities, along with other sectors such as security cooperation, are also part of the plans, following on from what has already been done, with special attention to the humanitarian crisis in Cabo Delgado.
The indicative figure of 80 million euros may even go up.
“As soon as our authorities, organisations, civil society and all partners have the capacity to work, we are available to increase this [financial] envelope throughout the period of the programme,” said Francisco André.
The financial support serves to “mobilise partnerships”, but not as direct aid to the Mozambican State Budget, he explained, when questioned by Lusa.
“If at a given moment it is necessary, if it is necessary to provide direct support, then we will consider it,” he said.
Several partners, including the European Union (EU) formally suspended direct support for the state budget in 2016 after the discovery of hidden debts of the Mozambican state, amounting to US$2.7 billion, a case currently on trial.
On cooperation over the next four years, Francisco André left new ideas, noting that the strategy provides for a focus on an “economic transition, which is doubly 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 Covid-19 vaccines to Mozambique, with delivery scheduled for December 10 – Portugal has already delivered 547,000 vaccines as part of its bilateral commitment with the country.
The PEC is “the backbone of the dialogue between the two countries,” said Francisco André, alongside Manuel Gonçalves, who considered the document a “reflection of the solid and consistent relationship” between the two countries.
By financing actions of various entities over four years, the programme will serve to “combat poverty, support development and training,” Gonçalves noted, considering it a document that points to a “sustainable future.
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