Mozambique and Qatar have expressed interest in strengthening economic and labour cooperation, including the recruitment of Mozambican workers to the Gulf country, during political consultations held in Maputo.

The statements were made at the end of the second round of political consultations between the two countries, held during the visit to the Mozambican capital by Ahmed bin Hassan Al Hammadi, Secretary-General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the State of Qatar.

“We have just held the second political consultations, and our focus is on expanding our cooperation at various levels. Economic cooperation is our calling card, in this case, for strengthening these relations,” said Maria de Fátima Manso, Mozambique’s Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs and the Mozambican Community Abroad, at the end of the meeting.

According to Manso, one of the priorities is the implementation of the general cooperation agreement between the two countries.

“At this stage, we want to strengthen our foundation, which is the signing of our general cooperation agreement. This will be the driving force behind the implementation of all the other cooperation initiatives we will undertake,” she said.

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Photo: Ministry of Foreign Affairs – Qatar

Maria de Fátima Manso said the two countries’ economies were complementary and identified several areas with potential for joint development.

“It is a country with excellent opportunities, and there is complementarity in terms of areas of cooperation. We have agriculture, industry, tourism and digital technologies. Qatar has considerable potential in these areas,” she said.

The government official also highlighted labour cooperation as one of the short-term priorities.

“Initially, we will pursue the agreement signed in October this year, which concerns the labour sector. We want to send workers to Qatar, and we are already at the preparation stage for this component,” she said.

The Secretary-General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the State of Qatar Ahmed bin Hassan Al Hammadi, in turn, advocated strengthening bilateral relations and expressed interest in welcoming Mozambican workers.

“We are now building a new relationship between Qatar and Mozambique and exploring how we can cooperate in several different fields, such as labour, for example, by attracting young people from Mozambique to work in Doha,” he said.

The political consultations took place during Al Hammadi’s one-day visit to Mozambique and form part of efforts to strengthen diplomatic and economic ties between the two countries.