Maputo — The Irish government has pledged to provide 1.1 million euros (about 1.7 million US dollars) over the next three years to improve the business environment in Mozambique.

A memorandum of understanding to this effect was signed in Maputo on Monday by the Minister of Industry and Trade, Antonio Fernando, and the Irish ambassador, Frank Sheridan. The agreement is part of a larger project to support the competitiveness and development of the Mozambican private sector.

The money will help finance the reforms under way in the licensing of companies. The government intends to computerize the licensing system, and make the Single Attendance Counters, where businesses should be able to obtain all the paperwork required for licensing, more professional;

Sheridan said during the ceremony that one of the main challenges in improving the business environment "is undoubtedly the matter of company licensing which in our view should be greatly improved".

He added that Ireland "wants to be associated with the emergence of a strong and competitive business class in Mozambique".

He also wanted Mozambique's ranking in the World Bank's annual publication "Doing Business" to improve "so as to make the country a priority destination for investment. This necessarily involves improving the business environment alongside the developments taking place in the context of regional and international economic integration, characterized by increasing competitiveness".

Fernando declared that, despite the advances that have been made, "we still feel that there are many challenges ahead of us. We need to improve our indicators and thus our ranking in "Doing Business" to make our country a pole of development for attracting local and foreign investment".

He added that the government has always regarded it a matter of key importance to create a business environment favourable to the attraction of investment and to developing the national business class.

Among the tasks of the Ministry of Industry and Trade, he said, were the building of "strong and healthy public-private partnerships", and heading a reform process that would "remove administrative barriers to investment".