Maputo, Oct. 7, 2026 (Lusa) - Mozambique's Minister for Planning and Development said on Wednesday that he was hoping for «good news» from the negotiations with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) regarding a new financial support programme, which he considers vital for bolstering the confidence of international partners.
«It is vital because it is not only about the resources they can channel, but also about the signal they send to other institutions and financial partners, and we believe we will have good news very soon,» said Salim Valá, on the sidelines of the second National Climate Finance Conference in Maputo.
This stance comes at a time when Mozambique and the IMF are continuing negotiations for a new financial assistance programme, following the institution's most recent technical mission to the country in September.
On the sidelines of the conference, which brings together public institutions, development partners and the private sector to discuss funding mechanisms for climate change adaptation and mitigation projects, the minister conceded that the resources currently available still fall short of the country's investment needs.
«The resources are still not sufficient to meet investment needs, even taking into account the floods in January 2026 which severely affected the southern and central regions of the country,» he acknowledged.
According to Valá, although the economy is maintaining a rate of growth that he described as «fragile» following the impacts of the climate-related shocks that worsened at the start of the year, there are signs of improvement in economic activity.
For the minister, a «more robust, more significant» rate of growth in Gross Domestic Product (GDP) will depend on the dynamism of businesses, increased production of goods and services, and the broadening of the tax base.
«Sustainable economic growth is what enables us to generate more revenue to finance development priorities,» he argued.
On 18 September, the IMF announced that negotiations with Mozambique on a new financial assistance programme are set to continue in the coming months, following a ten-day technical mission to Maputo.
In a statement issued at the end of that mission, the head of the IMF delegation to Mozambique, Pablo López Murphy, stated that «discussions on the reforms needed to pave the way for a Fund-supported programme will continue in the coming months».
On the same day, the Mozambican Ministry of Finance indicated that the mission had made it possible to «begin discussions on a potential credit facility programme», paving the way for a possible technical agreement between the parties.
The Government added that a further mission is scheduled for November to discuss the programme's conditions, indicators and targets, whilst maintaining the expectation of reaching a formal agreement before the end of the year.
The negotiations are taking place within the framework of a potential programme under the Extended Credit Facility (ECF), a concessional financing mechanism designed for low-income countries.
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