The Ambassador of the European Union (EU) in Mozambique said that Mozambican gas “is gaining more and more importance” in the European market. According to António Sánchez-Benedito, the relevance of Mozambican hydrocarbons is justified in a context in which Europe has expressed the desire to reduce dependence on Russian gas.
The EU representative in Mozambique added that the country has “enormous potential for the generation and supply of clean energy in the context of the shift in demand from fossil fuels to cleaner sources” and also assured that the European Union will continue to support Mozambique with a view to maximizing this potential.”
“The decision to use gas as a transition fuel is also an important opportunity for the production and sale of this Mozambican product, a sector in which European entrepreneurs are well represented,” he said this Thursday in Maputo at a roundtable on the EU-Mozambique economic relationship, which “discussed opportunities for the private sector in a society in ecological and digital transition.”
Also at the event, the diplomat said that the EU-Mozambique cooperation program “foresees financing, in the first four years of its implementation (2021-2024), 200 million euros in the area of green and digital growth.”
These actions are aimed at protecting natural capital and ecosystems, green transformation of the agriculture, forestry and fisheries sectors, building resilient infrastructure, with a special focus on renewable energy, water and sanitation and transport, as well as digital transformation for inclusive growth.
“To ensure that Mozambique attracts a significant share of these quality infrastructure investments, we need an enabling business and investment environment, including a clear and transparent legislative framework, as well as standardization of products, services and activities,” he said.
The public sector, according to Sánchez-Benedito, has in this regard “an important role for companies to leverage new financial instruments emerging in the context of the Ecological Pact in order to create jobs, upgrade professional skills, and adopt technology and investments in local research and innovation.”
“Mozambique could explore, for example, new economic opportunities to reallocate parts of the circular economy value chain using European investments,” he stressed.
For his part, the Minister of Industry and Trade, Silvino Moreno, said that the relevance of holding this roundtable generates and consolidates an expectation for the strengthening of cooperation through win-win partnerships, in view of the opportunities that are imposed by the development and integration of the circular economy.
