Maputo — Mozambique's Deputy Finance Minister, Pedro Couto, and his Vietnamese counterpart, Dohoang Anh Tuan, on Friday signed an agreement in Hanoi to avoid double taxation and tax evasion.

The agreement followed official discussions between the Prime Ministers of the two countries, Aires Ali and Nguyen Tan Dung, and is described as an important step in the efforts to raise economic cooperation between Mozambique and Vietnam to the same level as their political and diplomatic cooperation.

Speaking at a banquet offered by Nguyen Tan Dung, Ali said he hoped the new agreement, together with the tax incentives envisaged under Mozambique's legislation on foreign investment, will attract Vietnamese businesses to invest in Mozambique.

According to the report in Saturday's issue of the Maputo daily "Noticias", Ali announced that Mozambique wants to expand bilateral cooperation in the areas of agriculture, food processing, education, health, fisheries, tourism, science and technology, investment and trade.

"Our people are still living under conditions of extreme poverty", Ali stressed. "So it is imperative that we continue our efforts at development in order to ensure that these Mozambicans are involved in productive activities that can ensure their own sustenance".