Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva announced on Monday, November 24, in Maputo, the opening of 480 agricultural training places for Mozambicans. Eighty of these are for training trainers in agricultural sciences, and 400 are for technical courses, starting in 2026.
According to the President, who spoke during the Mozambique-Brazil Business Forum, the opportunities will be offered by Brazil’s Ministry of Education and the Brazilian Cooperation Agency, representing the most concrete measure presented by the head of state during his visit to Maputo.
Lula stated that agricultural training can help Mozambique accelerate the modernization of the sector, highlighting the country’s potential to develop large-scale production based on technology and knowledge transfer.
At the same time, the Brazilian President emphasized the need to resume and strengthen Brazil’s presence in Mozambique, assuring that “the partnership between the two countries should never have stopped.”
During the forum, he regretted that in recent years, Brazil had reduced its engagement in Africa, leading to the withdrawal of companies and projects that were previously strategic. According to him, Brazil “fell asleep” in its relations with Africa but is now recovering its investment capacity, including the return of the Brazilian National Bank for Economic and Social Development (BNDES) and renewed interest from Brazilian companies.
Lula stressed that there is room to resume projects in the energy sector, noting that the state oil company Petrobras could once again engage with Mozambican partners in gas and oil initiatives. The President also highlighted the intention to strengthen cooperation in health and education, combining public support with potential private investments.
Recalling the historical relationship between the two countries, Lula said that Brazil and Mozambique went from a phase of closeness to a period of “deep sleep,” which now needs to be overcome. The governments of both countries signed nine legal instruments to relaunch bilateral cooperation, covering areas such as science, energy, agriculture, and social policies.
The President also urged Mozambican and Brazilian businesspeople to maintain direct contact to take advantage of this “new political moment” and rebuild opportunities in trade and investment.
Brazilian President Lula da Silva’s visit to Maputo—his fourth across three terms—concludes with the awarding of an honorary doctorate by the Pedagogical University of Maputo, marking a day that symbolized an attempt to renew ties between the two nations.
Text: Germano Ndlovo
