In a bid to boost investment and strengthen bilateral relations, Portugal and Mozambique have signed a memorandum of understanding on maritime and port transport.
Portugal’s Minster of the Sea, Ana Paula Vitorino, joined the Minister of Transport and Communications of the Republic of Mozambique, Carlos Fortes Mesquita, in a signing ceremony in Oporto at which she said training will be increased and technology will be shared, such as the coastal maritime traffic system used by Portugal.
Minister Mesquita said that Mozambique “has an extremely strategic geographical position” in transport and logistics, particularly with its links to Zimbabwe, Malawi and the Republic of Zambia, Republic of Congo and South Africa’s northeast.
Mesquita said that Mozambique is developing both socially and economically and needs to link with other countries, especially as its oil and gas projects will lead to Mozambique becoming one of the major exporters of gas, diesel and fertilizers.
Both ministers said that existing bilateral relations are improved by shared traditions and Portugal and Mozambique’s “shared history” – referring to the arrival of Portuguese traders in the late C15th, centuries of colonisation and independence in 1975.
The meeting in the port of Leixões included a visit to the Ship Coordination Centre, port terminals and logistics platform, and the new Cruise Terminal, inaugurated in July 2015.
