Mozambican President arrives in Hanoi, beginning official visit to Vietnam

This trip marks President Nyusi's first visit to Vietnam since taking office and also the first visit by a Mozambican president to the Southeast Asian nation in over 17 years.

Welcoming President Nyusi and his wife at Noi Bai International Airport were Chairman of the Presidential Office Le Khanh Hai, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Nguyen Minh Hang, and Vietnamese Ambassador to Mozambique Pham Hoang Kim, and several other officials.

Taking place in the context that Vietnam and Mozambique will celebrate the 50th founding anniversary of diplomatic relations next year, the visit aims to strengthen cooperation in traditional areas while expanding into new areas such as telecommunications, energy and minerals, fisheries, and digital transformation.

During the visit, President Nyusi is scheduled to meet and hold talks with Vietnam's key leaders, and visit several businesses, educational and cultural establishments, and historical sites. The two sides are also expected to sign several important cooperation documents in areas of their strength and demand.

Vietnam and Mozambique established diplomatic relations on June 25, 1975. In recent years, the exchange of delegations between the two countries, while their cooperation mechanisms like the Intergovernmental Committee and political consultation have been maintained, laying a foundation for promoting comprehensive cooperation. Both sides have actively coordinated and supported each other at multilateral forums.

Regarding trade and investment, Vietnam raked in 127 million USD from exports to Mozambique last year, with main items being fertilisers, garments, and farming equipment. Imports from Mozambique totalled nearly 420 million USD, with key products being coal and cashew nuts.

Vietnamese businesses' investment in Mozambique is a bright spot in economic cooperation between the two nations, notably the success of Movitel - a joint venture between Vietnam’s Viettel Group and Mozambique’s SPI company - that was established in 2012 with an investment of over 600 million USD. It is now one of the top three contributors to Mozambique's national budget, providing perse telecommunications and IT services.

In addition, the two countries successfully implemented several agricultural projects, notably the first phase of a project on cooperation in research and development of food crops in Mozambique during 2013-2017, with potential for a second phase in the time to come.

Currently, the Vietnamese community in Mozambique consists of approximately 200 people, mainly managers and employees working at Movitel. The remainders are education and healthcare experts./.