The Vietnamese government intends to increase the volume of coal imports from Mozambique in order to feed its industry, especially for the production of electricity.
The intention was expressed during a meeting, in Hanoi, between the management of Vietnam’s National Coal and Mineral Industries (VINACOMIN) and Mozambican President Filipe Nyusi, during his three-day working visit to Vietnam.
According to the Deputy Minister for Mineral Resources and Energy, António Saíde, the meeting with VINACOMIN [Vietnamese National Coal and Mineral Industries Holding Limited] was aimed at discussing the exploitation of industrial minerals and coal.
Headquartered in the city of Há Long, in Quang Nunh province, VINACOMIN is a Vietnamese industrial conglomerate specializing in the exploitation of coal and other minerals.
“It’s important to say that around 65 percent of electricity generation in this country is based on fossil fuels. Coal is a determining factor in this industry and President Nyusi encouraged VINACOMIN to visit Mozambique”, Saíde said.
The deputy minister said that the Mozambican government is totally open to receiving investments and promoting economic cooperation between the two countries and “during the meeting, the Vietnamese authorities expressed their desire to import coal directly and not exclusively through concessionary companies.”
According to Saíde, the Vietnamese government believes that importing directly means more gains for the country “and for us it also clearly means broadening the scope, the range of players and enabling us to have more exports to this market as well.”
Saide said that Mozambique has coal reserves estimated at 30 billion tonnes. The central province of Tete has huge deposits of coking and thermal coal. There are also deposits in the central province of Zambézia and the northern Province of Niassa.
In 2023, bilateral trade between Mozambique and Vietnam totalled 546.4 million dollars, including 127 million dollars of Vietnamese exports.
AIM
