The Portuguese Minister of the Environment and Climate Action said this Thursday that the country wants to continue to be "useful" to Mozambique, expressing satisfaction about the "rigor and degree of implementation" of previously supported projects.
"There is a new ambition here and a capacity to be able to continue to be useful to Mozambique. It is not about supporting, signing, it is about being useful and sharing, and that is what we want to continue to do. We are extremely satisfied with the rigor and degree of execution of all the projects [supported by Portugal]," said João Pedro Matos Fernandes.
The minister was speaking in Maputo during a meeting with Mozambique's Minister of Land and Environment, Ivete Maibaze, to strengthen cooperation between the two countries and exchange experiences in the area of the environment.
On the occasion, the Portuguese government announced the availability of 300,000 euros to support the restoration of ecosystems in two conservation areas in Mozambique, through the signing of protocols in the environmental area.
Of the total amount made available by Portugal, 150 thousand Euros are destined to reinforce the technical capacity of the Maputo Special Reserve, aiming at re-establishing the ecological processes and regeneration of the reserve's native forest species, in a protocol signed in Maputo.
The remaining 150 thousand euros should be applied in the restoration of mangroves in the Mozambican reserve of Marromeu, center of the country - a protocol to be signed during Matos Fernandes' visit to Mozambique.
The Mozambican government thanked the aid and pledged to make "efficient" use of the resources, considering that the support will contribute to the fulfillment of the Sustainable Development Goals instituted by the United Nations.
"I would like to assume, right now, the commitment for an efficient use of the resources made available here for the purposes defined in this protocol and that will certainly contribute greatly for the reposition of the threatened ecosystems," said Ivete Maibaze.
Minister João Pedro Matos Fernandes, on a four-day visit to Mozambique, once again stressed that in 2017, when the Environmental Fund was launched, Portugal expressed its intention to finance projects in Portuguese-speaking African Countries (PALOP) and Timor-Leste to the tune of 10 million euros, a figure that reached 11.5 million euros in 2021.
Of this 11.5 million euros, he mentioned, 1.8 million were invested in Mozambique until the end of 2020, namely in seven projects in the water cycle and supply reinforcement, mainly in Maputo.
Starting in 2022, and for five years, Portugal expects to invest 20 million Euros for cooperation in the environmental field and in the fight against climate change.
"This is a global fight and we have to know how to support the countries most in need," the minister stressed in statements to Lusa.
Lusa Agency