Mozambique has taken a step forward in promoting transparency in the extractive sector, by including the entities that actually benefit from the exploitation of natural resources in evaluations of this sector, a government source said on Friday.

"The Extractive Industry Transparency Initiative [EITI] requires all member countries to disclose the owners of contracts and the companies operating in the extractive industry and we have carried out this survey," said the national coordinator of the EITI in Mozambique, Isabel Chuvambe.

Quoted by Lusa, Chuvambe was speaking to journalists at the end of a seminar to disseminate the 10th EITI report, held in the city of Xai-Xai, the capital of Gaza province, in the south of the country.

The inclusion of entities that take advantage of the exploitation of extractive resources in Mozambique - technically known as beneficial owners - will be part of the assessment being carried out by the international secretariat on extractive transparency, which is based in Oslo, Chuvambe said.

"We checked with the Legal Entities Registry Office and brought in the figure of the legal or beneficial owner," he said.

The provision of information on the recipients of profits from the exploitation of natural resources aims to combat illicit practices, including corruption, he added.

The EITI national coordinator stressed that, as part of improving transparency in the extractive area, Mozambique's report also included information on companies' social responsibility actions, job opportunities created and environmental policy.

Isabel Chuvambe said that coordination between relevant institutions in promoting transparency in the extractive industry has also made progress.