Maputo — Mozambican President Armando Guebuza on Monday called on African air companies to work together to overcome the current international financial crisis.

Opening the 41st general assembly of the African Airlines Association (AFRAA) in Maputo, Guebuza argued that working to solve problems of common interest could help transform the current crisis into an opportunity.

"If we look more to what unites us, and capitalize on these common points, then we will surprise the world by showing that we Africans are not going to be so sacrificed by the crisis", Guebuza said. "We shall show the world that, in times of crisis, union gives more strength than soulless competition does".

He thus urged all participants at the meeting to seek synergies that would unite Africans.

"We should not just wait for solutions coming from outside", he said. "Such solutions should only serve to complement what we are doing ourselves. We should seek out what is useful to us and influence global solutions so that these also serve our interests".

Guebuza stressed that the role of AFRAA is crucial in creating a safer and more sustainable environment for African civil aviation in an ever more globalised world.

Speaking to reporters, Mozambican Transport Minister Paulo Zucula said that the moves to liberalise Mozambican air space are now at an advanced stage. This year, the government launched a public tender to select more companies who want to operate domestic routes.

Several routes would be opened to competition, he said, and by the end of the year Zucula expected to see four companies flying between Maputo and Johannesburg. Currently that route is shared between Mozambique Airlines (LAM), and South African Airways (SAA).

Asked whether LAM is afraid of the liberalisation of the market, the chairman of the company, Jose Viegas, said that LAM is better prepared now to face competition than it was three years ag.

He regarded the liberalization of air space as unstoppable. "What we have to do is adapt to this, and improve the quality of our services and, above all, our safety", said Viegas.

Last week, LAM added a new route to its schedule, with two weekly flights between Maputo and Luanda. Viegas said the company is also thinking of flying from Maputo to Cape Town (a route currently monopolized by SAA), and re-opening the Maputo-Lisbon route.

At the moment, LAM has a code sharing agreement with the Portuguese airline, TAP, for the flights to Lisbon, but LAM does not operate any intercontinental flights of its own.