Maputo — The governments of Mozambique and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) have expressed their willingness to deepen bilateral cooperation in agriculture, food security and environmental protection.
According to Mozambican Agriculture Minister, Roberto Albino, who was speaking on Thursday, in Dubai, on the sidelines of the session on "the future of energy and industries', as part of Mozambique's participation in the World Governments Summit, the cooperation is being redesigned within the framework of strengthening strategic relations between the two countries.
Altino explained that, after meeting his Emirati counterpart, Amna Al Dahak, the two countries agreed to create a joint technical team, which will be responsible for operationalizing the action plan foreseen in the Memorandum of Understanding in the field of environment and biodiversity.
"Small-scale producers should be integrated to increase their income and contribute to the overall growth of the country. We also reject the idea that the industrialization of agriculture represents a threat to the environment. Today, to increase overall production, we focus on expanding areas, which leads to deforestation, because yields per hectare are low. Industrialization allows for greater production in a smaller area and with less environmental impact', he claimed.
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As an example, he highlighted the Mapai dam project in the southern province of Gaza, noting that the infrastructure will allow for the concentration of high levels of agricultural production in a small area.
"With 200,000 hectares of irrigable land, we can obtain the yield that is currently achieved on about one million hectares with low productivity levels. The dam will also allow for flood control, energy production, and environmental protection in the Limpopo basin', he said.
As for technological innovation, Albino said "it is possible to industrialize agriculture in an environmentally friendly way. It must include conservation practices, rational use of inputs, and technologies that eliminate the need for fossil fuels harmful to the environment.'
"Mozambique cannot remain on the sidelines of global trends linked to new technologies and artificial intelligence. The world is becoming digital and Mozambique must be digital', he added.
Also in Dubai, Mozambican Prime Minister Benvinda Levi announced that the Emirati government has expressed its interest in supporting the country in the construction of water infrastructures in order to mitigate flood impact and boost agricultural production
Levi told reporters "There was a very clear expression of interest in supporting Mozambique, especially in the construction of dams to retain water, in order to prevent us from experiencing the same tragedy of floods again in the future. However, It is still premature to give concrete dates', she said.
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The Prime Minister described the summit as a privileged space for mutual learning and sharing of experiences among the participating countries. "Whenever we interact with other leaders and governments, we find ourselves in a win-win situation. We share experiences, constraints, and learn how other countries have faced similar challenges, avoiding the same mistakes,' she said.
She also said that the UAE has expressed its interest in cooperation with Mozambique in the sectors of digital transformation and public governance.
"That's why we set up a Ministry of Communication and Digital Transformation, because we understand that it is not possible for a country to develop in these times without investing in digitalization, communication, and artificial intelligence,' she explained.
