The government has appointed the Prime Minister, Adriano Maleiane, to lead the new dialog group between the government and the doctors, the spokesman for the Council of Ministers, Inocêncio Impissa, said today.

"In the context of opening up the dialogue, despite the ongoing meetings, the government has set up a new working group headed by the Prime Minister, to continue delving into the issues still outstanding in this process," he said.

The aim of this call is to identify and remove all obstacles to the continuation of the strike, which is now in its third phase.

"The corridor remains the same, we've just moved up a level to try to understand a little more about what isn't being achieved at the level it is. The same channel of dialog continues in order to find other elements and see what is holding back the progress that has been made," he clarified.

According to Impissa, the government is in permanent dialogue with the leadership of the Mozambican Medical Association, which is resulting in progress on the biggest obstacles to the strike, namely seniority and overtime.

"The last two meetings took place between Tuesday and the weekend, so [the government] remains open to debate," he said.

On the other hand, the Deputy Minister of State Administration and Civil Service said that the government regrets the damage caused by the strike and praises the serenity of the population in the face of the situation

Likewise, "the government praises the role of doctors, including military and foreign doctors, and other health professionals who, without joining the strike, are sparing no effort to respond to the concerns of the population," he said.