The South African businesspeople have been urged to reach out to their Mozambican counterparts and establish partnerships that will enable them to access trade and investment opportunities in the neighbouring country.

In a speech that he delivered during the official opening of the South African Pavillion at the international exhibition, FACIM in Maputo last night, the Board Advisor of the Mozambique Investment and Export Promotion Agency (APIEX), Dr Gil Bires said partnerships would be a perfect vehicle for exploring opportunities in Mozambique to the benefit of SA and Mozambique.

“As a national investment and export promotion agency we are delighted to see the South African businesspeople showing interest in our country and coming over to seek opportunities here. We view the participation of the South African companies in FACIM as an indication of our neighbour’s commitment to enhancing bilateral economic trade relations and increasing trade and investment relations between the two sister countries,” said Bires.

He singled out oil and gas as one of Mozambique’s natural resources that present a plethora of business opportunities for local and foreign companies.

“I am encouraging you to establish partnerships with your Mozambican counterparts for the exploitation of these and other opportunities that are available in the Mozambican economy. I want to assure you that the business environment in Mozambique remains stable despite a number of challenges. There are ongoing efforts at all levels to address these challenges in order to make the environment more conducive and attractive for trade and investment,” added Bires.

He further explained that his organisation, which was created by the Mozambican government in October last year, was working hard to woo investors to country.

FACIM is an international multi-sectoral trade fair held annually to showcase Mozambique as an attractive destination for trade and investment. Almost 2 000 companies from more than 30 countries are participating in the trade fair.