JOHANNESBURG – The Germany Africa Business Forum said on Monday it would embark on a three-day trade mission early next year to encourage, promote, and facilitate trade and investment between businesses in the European country and a growing Mozambican economy.
In a statement the GABF, a private think tank founded in 2017 whose goal is to strengthen investment ties between Germany and Africa, said investors would visit the resource-rich southern African country during a gas and power conference organised by Africa Oil & Power and set for next March.
It said the goal of the roadshow was to deepen German-Mozambican relationships in light of Mozambique’s recent discovery of substantial natural gas fields, largely considered a game-changer for the country and its people.
Liquefied natural gas (LNG) is a clean and safe fuel that is growing in global significance, as world demand for lower-carbon energy increases.
“Mozambique is a great opportunity for German businesses to invest in gas monetization projects, petrochemicals, power projects, industrialization and immediate diversification of the economy that leads to jobs for the people of Mozambique and Germans alike,” GABF executive chairman Sebastian Wagner said.
Mozambique offers German companies many untapped opportunities to adapt and create new business models that are inclusive of and responsive to the tremendous opportunities and potential that exists in the African state, the GABF said.
The think tank said the platform created by the government of Mozambican President Filipe Nyusi and organisers of Africa Oil & Power — the continent’s leading investment platform for the energy sector — to bring investors into the country was a step in the right direction.
The GABF will host a Germany-Mozambique roundtable at next March’s conference and also plans to announce several investment agreements.
On Monday, it said Mozambique would play a strong role in driving energy security and global peace and empowering young people.
“Germany has had strong relations with Mozambique since independence. Many Mozambicans studied and lived in Germany, and Germany has provided wide-ranging support to support peace and reconciliation in Mozambique,” Wagner said.
“Economic empowerment has to be our next goal, and now is the time.”
