Japan’s outgoing ambassador, Kimura Hajime, met with the Mozambican President, Filipe Nyusi, on Tuesday 16 January to say goodbye, as his mission in the country has come to an end. On the occasion, the Japanese government promised to fund the state budget again this year if Mozambique’s situation continues to improve.
According to the newspaper O País, it was following the discovery of the hidden debts that the Japanese government cut off direct funding to Mozambique’s state budget. But now, eight years later, Japan says there is a good chance it will resume.
The Japanese ambassador explained that the loans are concessional and have very favourable conditions. “The loans have interest rates of 0.01 per cent, to be repaid in 40 years and with a grace period of ten years,” noted the source, adding that “unfortunately, they have been suspended because of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) assessment”.
“Mozambique was in debt distress, which means that it was not in a position to pay (amortise). So we had to stop. Now Mozambique is at high risk,” said Kimura Hajime, quoted by the Mozambican Information Agency (AIM).
According to the Japanese diplomat, in order to be eligible, Mozambique “needs to improve a little more. Maybe then we can start again. I hope this happens this year, it all depends on the Mozambican government, but we also help to improve the financial situation through technical co-operation.”
Regarding the cancellation of some projects in Cabo Delgado in the wake of terrorism, the ambassador expressed his country’s willingness to continue working with the Mozambican government to improve security conditions in that northern province. “We are currently working with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) to rebuild the town of Mocímboa da Praia. We still have many projects. For example, we have supplied equipment to the maritime police and others to the border police. We also supplied 70 fishing boats to Pemba, but they haven’t arrived yet,” he explained.
According to the diplomat, regardless of the amounts involved in these and other projects, what is most important is the will that exists to help the people.
The two countries are in the so-called Indo-Pacific region, so co-operation in this direction, according to the source, is very important. “It must be a region of peace. It can’t have a problem that could jeopardise peace. In addition, Mozambique is the gateway to the inland countries. We want to continue working with Mozambique,” the diplomat emphasised.
Kimura Hajime, who spent more than three years in Mozambique, emphasised the continuity of projects in the country. “I’ve come to thank you for the co-operation I’ve received during the three years and 11 months I’ve been here. During that time we’ve managed to do a lot of work. We’ve managed to achieve a lot thanks to the collaboration of the Mozambican government. I really enjoyed this work. For example, we worked together to combat terrorism in Cabo Delgado. We have programmes to help internally displaced people, through international NGOs,” he explained.