United Arab Emirates (UAE) has been strengthening its presence in Mozambique with it becoming the third-largest exporter of diverse products to Maputo in 2018.
The UAE investment level approved by the Agency of Investment and Export Promotion (APIEX) reached over $1 billion between 2014 and 2018, with 20 companies from the UAE investing in Mozambique market.
Abdulla Momade, representative of the Dubai Chamber of Commerce in Maputo said that their investments in Mozambique have focused on energy, logistics and real estate.
Looking at commercial transactions, the volume of trade between Mozambique and the United Arab Emirates is reported to be around US$700 million. In 2018 alone, trade between the two countries was US$500 million.
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The Persian Gulf country exports to Mozambique products such as lubricants, various machinery and motor vehicles while it buys from Mozambique ores, tobacco, aluminium, precious stones and agricultural products.
The start of the production of liquefied natural gas and allied projects in the Rovuma Basin in Cabo Delgado, northern Mozambique, is set for 2024. With Operators of Area 1 and Area 4 blocks expected to invest close to US$60 billion and is expected to produce 17,000 tonnes (t) of liquefied petroleum gas a year.
“We are looking for opportunities in the hydrocarbon industry. We want to help with our extensive experience in this sector by providing logistics for gas and oil projects,” said Omar Khan Director of Dubai Chamber of Commerce international offices.
The UAE’s first step into the Mozambican gas business came in March this year through a business mission from Dubai which is one of the seven UAE capitals to Maputo.which by the end of the visit, business people from Dubai promised to develop logistics appropriate to the development of Mozambique’s hydrocarbon industry.
There is a growing interest with Mozambique entering the list of the world’s largest hydrocarbon producers. “We want to partner with Mozambican companies, in particular, small and medium enterprises. We understand that our experience in oil and gas could be an asset to Mozambique,” Momade says.
UAE is willing to assist Mozambican SMEs in the certification process with a view to providing various services to oil companies. A representative of the Dubai Chamber of Commerce in Maputo added that they want to impart their know-how and build strategic alliances in business and other fields of bilateral cooperation.
