Mozambique and Venezuela strengthened bilateral relations with the signing of ten new co-operation agreements on agricultural production, mining, housing, culture, education, gender equality and hydrocarbons.
The agreements were signed in Caracas last Friday (10), at a ceremony presided over by the Venezuelan Minister of Foreign Affairs, Yván Gil, and the Mozambican Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, Manuel José Gonçalves.
The agreements are the result of the 1st Venezuela-Mozambique Joint Commission, and two more co-operation instruments are expected to be signed in the coming weeks, Venezuelan diplomacy said in a statement.
‘Talking about cooperative relations with Africa means talking about our shared history of independence and the fight against colonialism in all its forms,’ said Yván Gil, quoted in the same statement.
Venezuela currently has 19 diplomatic missions in Africa, making it the third largest Latin American presence on the continent, after Cuba and Brazil, he added.
‘We have co-operation projects with practically every African country. We also have around 400 signed agreements and more than 500 African students have received training in Venezuela under the international student programme promoted by the Gran Mariscal de Ayacucho Foundation,’ he said.
Manuel José Gonçalves emphasised that he hopes to see the fruits of the agreements signed very soon, the symbol of 18 years of bilateral relations based on ‘friendship, solidarity and cooperation’.
‘We would like to thank the Venezuelan government for its support in the area of development and human capital. We are convinced that we will continue to count on this important alliance which constitutes a great opportunity,’ said the Mozambican official, quoted in the Venezuelan statement.
The Venezuelan National Assembly also set up the Venezuela-Mozambique Parliamentary Friendship Group, in a decision that ‘reaffirms the bonds of friendship between the two nations’, which in November ‘mark 19 years of good relations’, the statement said.
On 16 November 2005, Venezuela and Mozambique officially established diplomatic relations, with cooperation instruments already in place in the areas of visa suppression, political consultations, communication and information, and education and university training.
Under the previous agreements, Caracas established a scholarship programme for students that allows a group of Mozambican scholarship holders to study hydrocarbons, electricity and medicine, among others.
