Maputo, June 9, 2025 (Lusa) - The President of Mozambique on Monday called for “administrative and political borders” to be forgotten in order to facilitate business with neighbouring Eswatini, appealing for any barriers preventing the growth of the two countries’ economies to be “unblocked”.
“I would like to take this opportunity to say that, as neighbours, brothers, we have to see the opportunities in both Mozambique and Eswatini as common opportunities and, united, with shared responsibilities and shared investments, we can grow and create better living conditions for our peoples and grow our economies,” said the President of Mozambique, Daniel Chapo, who is visiting the neighbouring country.
The Mozambican president today presented his country’s business potential at a meeting with Mozambican and Eswatini businesspeople, where he advocated “a common strategic vision” between the two countries to enable business.
“Sometimes, we need to forget administrative and political borders and see our territories as a single territory for business opportunities, on both sides,” said Chapo.
“If you pay attention, you will realise that, in other parts of the world, there are practically no borders anymore. Europe has a common currency, the euro, and I can get a visa that allows me to travel throughout the European Union without any difficulties. And we continue to create barriers between us, and it is these barriers that prevent us from growing economically,” added the Mozambican president.
Daniel Chapo called for unity among all African countries to boost the continent’s economy, repeating that this is fundamental for development.
“We need to unblock everything that prevents our economies from growing, and that is our responsibility as a state, and we need to have a common strategic vision so that we can do business without barriers, inter-African business,” he said.
Daniel Chapo also criticised the lack of air links between several African countries, which he said was a barrier to business.
The President of Mozambique called for unity, especially among the countries of the Southern African Development Community (SADC), warning that “no one grows alone”.
“SADC itself is a large market and we have to think big as countries in order to develop our region, and the region can only develop if we really invest. It does not have to be only with our money, but with money from those who come looking for business opportunities. We have resources, if we know how to sit down and negotiate as states, as countries,” he pointed out.
In the same speech, Chapo asked Essuatíni businesspeople to invest in energy, pointing out that Mozambique has a strategic location, ongoing investments and diversified energy sources to power the entire SADC region.
“We have a strategic location and, above all, we have resources such as rivers that can produce hydroelectric power, we also have gas, we can build gas-fired power stations to produce electricity, we have sunshine all year round, we have a geographical location that puts us next to the sea, which produces wind, and we can produce wind power,” Chapo explained.
“We cannot look at the energy crisis as a fatality, but as an opportunity to resolve the situation and, consequently, make money,” he added.
Daniel Chapo also spoke of Mozambique’s potential in the areas of tourism, agriculture, transport and logistics, pointing out that the country has the natural resources to make projects viable.
“For example, South Africa has more than 500 golf courses, in Eswatini they are building golf courses every day, Mozambique does not have a single golf course in good condition, not even one,” lamented the Mozambican head of state.
PME/AYLS // AYLS
Lusa
