Maputo — The Mozambican Minister of Planning and Development, Salim Valá, believes it is crucial to ensure the employment of young people and women in large mineral projects in order to avoid the mistake of "exploiting resources without benefiting local communities.'

According to the Minister, speaking recently during the presentation of the outlines regarding the implementation of the government Economic Recovery and Growth Plan 2025-2029, as part of the celebrations of the 30th anniversary of the Millennium-BIM, one of the country's largest commercial banks, "We want to convey the message that natural gas is not an end in itself'.

The liquefied natural gas (LNG) projects are "a mechanism to finance economic diversification, modernize agriculture, expand industrialization, strengthen human capital, implement modern infrastructure, empower small businesses, and create jobs', he said.

According to Valá, the countries that have prospered with natural resources are those that have transformed extraordinary revenues into strategic investments.

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"This is the path that Mozambique intends to follow. Mozambique no longer accepts being a country rich in resources but poor in benefits. This is a historical mistake that some countries have made, but one that ours cannot afford to fall into', he explained.

The government, he said, is moving forward with local content policies, with productive financing mechanisms, with territorial funds, with strengthening human capital and with clear incentives, so that large projects integrate young people, women and Mozambican companies into their value chains.'

"We don't just want to extract wealth; we want to transform it, multiply it and distribute it', he said.