Industrial Mozambique – Korea cooperation forum organized in Maputo

On the initiative of the South Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA), a business forum was organized in Maputo on July 2 to discuss possible ways to enhance cooperation between Mozambique and South Korea in the industrial sector, especially in the field of energy.
In his maiden speech, Sang Jin Lee, director general for trade cooperation in the Korean Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, argued that mutual understanding between Mozambique and South Korea already had a foundation, with a strong diplomatic relationship — initiated in 1993 and intensified in 2013 with the opening of the first South Korean Embassy in Mozambique — and a mutually beneficial economic cooperation. Ambassador of South Korea in Mozambique Hee Yoon Kang exhorted Mozambique to learn from South Korea’s economic history as an equal partner.
Deputy Minister of Industry and Commerce Omar Mithá also pointed out the importance of mutual trust to ensure win–win cooperation. Mozambique is committed to sectorial diversification and an inclusive economic development, thanks to significant comparative advantages and investment incentives. In 2014, as explained by Nuno Maposse, Marketing and Information Service coordinator of the Investment Promotion Centre of Mozambique (CPI), said that investment in Mozambique reached $7.485 billion (out of a total of $23 billion between 2010 and 2014). Between 2011 and 2014, South Korea’s investment in Mozambique increased from $ 500,000 to $ 3.5 million.
The oil and gas sector has the potential to become an interesting field of cooperation between South Korea and Mozambique. According to Tavares Martinho, administrator for Research and Production at the National Hydrocarbons Company (ENH), there are important needs in the Rovuma basin (170 trillion cubic feet of natural gas) and for Pemba oil and gas service center, in terms of liquid natural gas shipping and cargo transportation, industrial services, infrastructures and construction and general ad-hoc services. Joaquim Ou-Chim, the Electrification and Projects director for Electricity of Mozambique (EDM), recalled that natural gas should contribute to 42 percent of national energy production by 2020. Generation and transmission expansion are needed to cope with the growing electricity demand. The need for investment exceeds $4 billion for the next five years. According to Silvestre Elias, director of Maintenance at the National Road Administration (ANE), the road sector is also a strategic point of industrial cooperation, with urgent needs in terms of rehabilitation and pavement. The Integrated Investment Program, which is to be implemented from 2014 to 2017, prioritized 17 roads projects (totaling 4,210 kilometers).
As for the Korean administration, Jae Jeong Moon, chief representative of the Economic Development Cooperation Found (EDCF) underlined that in 2014, the  total EDCF portfolio in Mozambique comprised a $439.9 million commitment in diverse areas (energy, information and communication technologies, transportation, education, water supply, public administration). The Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA), represented by Hee Seok Ko, is active in the fields of agriculture, education and infrastructure with projects totalizing almost $30 million.
In his closing speech, Rogério Manuel, chairman of the Confederation of Economic Associations of Mozambique (CTA), said that this forum was the second event in less than two years for which a South Korean business delegation had been invited in Mozambique. He underlined the strategic opportunities that such a strengthened cooperation could offer to both countries for years to come.