BELGRADE, Serbia: Mozambique is seeking to revive and expand its cooperation with Serbia, with agriculture, industry and education identified as key areas for deeper engagement between the two countries.
Mozambican Prime Minister Benvinda Levi made the announcement on Tuesday during her official visit to Belgrade, where she is attending commemorations marking the 65th anniversary of the Conference of the Non Aligned Movement.
Levi has been in Serbia since August 30 and said Mozambique wants its relationship with Serbia to move beyond traditional political and diplomatic cooperation towards trade, investment and other areas of mutual interest.
“We understand that this is an opportunity to restore these relations and move forward into other areas of cooperation, such as trade and others,” the Mozambican Prime Minister said.
Agriculture, industry and education have been identified as strategic sectors by the two countries.
Serbia has also expressed its willingness to increase the number of scholarships available to Mozambican students seeking to study in the country.
“Serbia is interested in granting scholarships to Mozambican students. At the moment, we have only seven Mozambican students here in Serbia, which is very few, but they have shown that they are open to increasing the number of scholarships,” she said.
Levi also pointed to potential cooperation in the military industry alongside the other areas being considered by the two governments.
Mozambique and Serbia have historical ties dating back to the country’s liberation struggle. Their bilateral relations were formally established 51 years ago, following Mozambique’s independence.
Although cooperation in recent years has largely remained focused on political and diplomatic matters, the latest discussions seek to broaden the relationship into economic and educational fields.
Levi was also in Belgrade for a high level commemorative meeting of the Non Aligned Movement, held under the theme “The Legacy of Non-Alignment, Lessons for the World Today”.
The meeting comes against a backdrop of geopolitical tensions and conflicts affecting several parts of the world.
“The principles of Bandung, which were reaffirmed by the Non-Aligned Movement, are principles that remain extremely valid and that we have to use to address the challenges we face,” the Prime Minister said.
The discussions between Mozambique and Serbia are expected to provide an opportunity for the two countries to build on their historical relationship while pursuing new areas of cooperation.
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