Telecoms and minerals top new Mozambique deals

Party General Secretary and State President To Lam (right) and Mozambican President Filipe Jacinto Nyusi in Hanoi on September 9. (Photo: VNA)

During last week’s talks between Vietnamese Party General Secretary and State President To Lam and Mozambican President Filipe Jacinto Nyusi in Hanoi, both sides saw the signing of two deals.

They included an MoU on cooperation in energy and mineral exploitation and processing between the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) and Mozambique’s Ministry of Mineral Resources and Energy, and an MoU on agro-fishery cooperation between the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and Mozambique’s Ministry of Sea, Inland Waters, and Fisheries.

“The cooperation will contribute to improving the legal framework and facilitating both nations’ management bodies and enterprises to strengthen cooperation in the energy and mineral industries,” said the MoIT’s Department of Asian and African Markets.

Mozambique has commercially important deposits of iron ore, titanium, marble, copper, gold, rubies, and more, and holds some of the world’s largest untapped coal deposits.

The southeastern African country’s mineral potential is largely untapped. Gold deposits in several provinces have attracted domestic and international investor interest in recent years. Gold mining has been slow to develop as most of its activities are carried out by informal artisanal miners.

Mozambican Ambassador to Vietnam Ilundi Dos Santos said, “Mozambique can work closely with Vietnam, as its economy is rapidly developing, and the demand for minerals and energy will increase. Mozambique can supply these resources, creating opportunities for both countries to grow together.”

She added that Mozambique wants to continue developing bilateral cooperation, especially in investment, the economy, and trade. It commits to creating stronger conditions for Vietnamese businesses to invest and operate in such fields as telecommunications and mining.

At present, Mozambique is promoting its Look East policy via enhancement of cooperation with China, Japan, India, and Vietnam, among others.

“Vietnam and Mozambique have highly appreciated the positive developments in bilateral economic cooperation, with the highlight being the success of the Movitel telecommunications project in Mozambique,” said Vietnam’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA).

Movitel, a $600-million joint venture between Viettel and Mozambique’s SPI Company, has become a bright spot in Viettel’s foreign investment and a symbol of success in Vietnam-Mozambique economic cooperation. Movitel is now one of the top three contributors to Mozambique’s national budget, providing diverse telecommunications and IT services.

“This project has been contributing to economic development and bringing many benefits to the people of the two countries,” the MoFA stated. “President Filipe Nyusi hopes that in the coming time, businesses of both sides will actively study and research to build more models like the Movitel one.”

Meanwhile, the two countries last week also agreed to continue to facilitate the penetration of each country’s strengths into each other’s markets such as agricultural products, garments, seafood, and coal. They also reach consensus on studying the possibility of expanding the joint venture cooperation model to areas such as investing in cashew processing lines and building seafood processing factories in Mozambique.

“The president of Mozambique has highly appreciated Vietnam’s achievements in the agricultural sector, hoping that it will support the nation in developing agriculture and coordinate in the implementation of tripartite agricultural projects following the model that Vietnam has successfully implemented with African countries,” the MoFA stated.

In recent times, the Mozambican government has focused on poverty reduction and food security. The country is calling for foreign investment, stepping up infrastructure construction, and promoting internal strength for national construction. Thanks to that, Mozambique has achieved various successes in economic reform.

Two-way trade in 2023 reached $546.4 million, with Vietnam’s exports worth $127 million which was featured by shipments of rice, fertilisers, and other goods; and imports valued at $419.4 million worth of goods, mainly coal and cashew nuts.

Viettel joint venture in Mozambique wins competitive prize Movitel, a joint venture between Vietnam’s military-run telecom service provider Viettel and Mozambique’s SPI and Invespar companies, has been named the leader in terms of competitive strength in mobile information.

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