The President of Mozambique, Daniel Chapo, is meeting today with his Portuguese counterpart Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa and Prime Minister Luís Montenegro. In an interview in Seville, he expressed Portugal’s openness to converting Mozambique’s sovereign debt into green economy projects, a topic he plans to discuss during his visit to Lisbon.
“There is openness from Portugal and other European Union countries, which we consider extremely important,” Daniel Chapo stated. “This would alleviate the pressure on our state budget due to sovereign debt costs and allow us greater flexibility for investments and development in Mozambique,” he emphasized during the IV United Nations International Conference on Financing for Development.
The topic was highlighted by Mozambique at the conference in Seville, which ends today, with promising prospects for agreements. “There are encouraging discussions, even though there isn’t a concrete response or project yet, the important thing is that the world understood the message during this conference,” he noted.
During today’s official visit to Portugal, Daniel Chapo will hold meetings with President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa and Prime Minister Luís Montenegro.
He stated that their intention is to advance talks on green projects, including public debt conversion agreements and carbon credit initiatives aimed at reducing global emissions. “Portugal is a fraternal country,” Chapo said, highlighting the strong historical, cultural, and cooperative ties reflected recently during the 50th anniversary of Mozambique’s independence on June 25, attended by Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa.
“It signifies the strong brotherhood and excellent cooperation between Mozambique and Portugal. We want to strengthen this perspective of climate funds for the green economy and the potential exchange of sovereign debt or carbon credit issues,” he added.
Additionally, Chapo aims to further strengthen the increasingly “stronger” relations between the two nations during his visit. He highlighted the “common history” shared by Portugal and Mozambique, even amid the colonial process, where both peoples confronted a common enemy—the fascist and dictatorial Portuguese regime that fell in 1974.
“We have always been brotherly nations,” reiterated Daniel Chapo, adding: “We want to deepen our friendship and cooperation, reinforcing our economic, social, and political relations to develop both Portugal and Mozambique, advance our policies, and create better living conditions for our peoples.”
