Maputo — The Mozambican government, through its Local Economic Development Programme, has established a partnership with the Italian-based European Centre of the Project for the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) to promote people's interest in development issues.

This partnership, which counts on the support of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the Local Economic Development Network (REDEL), and the National Association of Mozambican Municipalities (ANAMM), will work to promote in schools, the importance of attaining the MDGs.

Under this understanding, the partners are to support Mozambique in terms of expertise and cooperate with the local governments and education authorities.

The MDG Project, with partners such as Italy, Spain, Bulgaria and Mozambique, has the objective of supporting education authorities to increase awareness in development issues, reads a UNDP press release, received by AIM.

According to this document, the idea is to enhance people's interest in development issues, and have public support to attain the MDGs, particularly in Africa south of Sahara.

This partnership was formally established in June, during a visit of a Mozambican delegation to Italy.

During that visit, the delegation, headed by the National Director for the Promotion of Rural Development, Joaquim Casimiro, took part in a meeting of the MDG Project, organized in Umbria by the Local Authorities Fund for Decentralized Cooperation and Sustainable Development.

The MDGs were agreed at the United Nations Millennium Summit in 200. Among other goals, they aim to cut by half, between 1990 and 2015, the percentage of people living on incomes of less than one US dollar a day, and to reduce by half the percentage of the population suffering from hunger.

The MDGs also include attaining universal primary education for children of both sexes, reducing the under five mortality rate by two thirds, and the maternal mortality rate by three quarters, all by 2015.