Speaking at the signing ceremony of the MoU in Gaborone, the Minister of Trade and Industry, Dorcus Makgato-Malesu noted, "This MoU will bring mutual benefit between the two countries. Mozambique has access to the sea, they can offer us this access and we can offer them minerals."She said the MoU would foster technical cooperation to develop the exchange of experiences and technological cooperation between the public and private sectors.Botswana has embarked on a robust plan to exploit her 212 billion tonnes of coal resources with a larger portion of it earmarked for export to the Asian markets through the eastern route passing through Zimbabwe and Mozambique.
Feasibility studies for the expansion of the existing port and rail infrastructure is currently underway with preliminary estimates suggesting that Botswana can export about two million tonnes now and up to 60 million tonnes of coal when the infrastructure has been upgraded. The Mozambican Minister of Industry and Trade, Armando Inroga said, "Through this MoU, we as governments hope that it will open a new and prosperous path for business between our countries as well as for SADC as a region".Inroga said there are other existing opportunities apart from those that lie in traditional sectors such as agriculture, tourism, industry and fishery. "There are a number of others emanating from the vast reserves of minerals and gas that are said to be in existence," he said.
