Maputo — The Canadian government has decided to increase "substantially" its development aid to Mozambique, according to a press release from the Mozambican Foreign Ministry received by AIM on Tuesday.

This decision was announced by the Canadian consul in Mozambique, Laurent Charette, at an audience in Maputo granted by Deputy Foreign Minister Frances Rodrigues.

Canada's pledge to increase its technical and financial assistance to Mozambique, is said to result from "a reformulation of Canada's development policy in order to increase its effectiveness in the fight against poverty".

The Ottawa government will therefore "allocate resources to a smaller number of countries and in areas where there is an immediate impact on poverty reduction".

Charette carried an official message from Canadian Cooperation Minister Susan Whelan, for Mozambican Foreign Minister Leonardo Simao, which praised the Mozambican government's poverty reduction efforts, as well as its activities in the area of "good governance". It was on the basis of these efforts that the Canadian government decided to increase its aid.

The release said that an additional 50 million Canadian dollars (about 33 million US dollars) will be spent on the Mozambican education sector over the next five years.

The Canadian decision also implies "a privileged political relationship with Mozambique in the international area, particularly regarding questions concerned with implementing NEPAD (New Partnership for Africa's Development)", the release said.