Maputo, 22 Sep - Norway has pledged a grant of 30 million Norwegian crowns (about five million US dollars) to support the institutional capacity building programme of the Mozambican Ministry of Energy for the next five years. (Courtesy of AIM - Agencia de Informacão de Mocambique)
The agreement to this effect was signed on Friday in Maputo by
Mozambican Foreign Minister Alcinda Abreu and by Norwegian
Ambassador Thorbjorn Gaustadsaether.
Speaking immediately after the signing, Abreu said the agreement
will make it possible to improve the impact of national energy
policies. She stressed the good relations between Norway and
Mozambique, and the Norwegian commitment to the fight against
poverty in Mozambique.
For his part, Gaustadsaether said that his government has defined
energy and the environment as two priority areas of cooperation
between Norway and poor countries.
"We continue to support the energy sector because Mozambique has
identified it as one of the strategic areas for the Action Plan
for the Reduction of Absolute Poverty (PARPA)", he added. "The
objective is to improve the sector's productivity, and expand
access to electricity for domestic use as well as for the
education and health service".
The overall objective of Norwegian cooperation in this area, said
the ambassador, was to ensure the balanced and sustainable growth
of the energy sector - but to achieve that goal, "we must have a
functional ministry".