Porto, Portugal, Dec. 8, 2025 (Lusa) - Mozambican president Daniel Chapo on Monday described Portugal as a "friend" of Mozambique's development and said that the two countries would be "families forever".

"No one develops alone, we need friends. And Portugal is one of those friendly countries that will continue to establish economic relations with Mozambique and, by creating jobs, generate income for Mozambican families," said Chapo at a meeting in Porto with the Mozambican community living in Portugal, which brought together more than a hundred people.

The head of state is in Porto for a working visit that includes, on Tuesday, the sixth Portugal-Mozambique Bilateral Summit, as well as a business forum between the two countries, with around 500 participants, which he said will be "very important".

"Also to our Mozambican brothers, who can invest in Portugal," he said, on the importance of this forum.

He added that the summit - the last one was in Maputo in 2022 - is taking place "in such a special year for Mozambique", commemorating 50 years of independence, and aims to strengthen relations between the two countries.

"Mozambique and Portugal are two sister countries, united not only by language but by ties of familiarity, between countries but also between people," said Chapo, adding: "Families are being born that make us two countries, families forever.‘ ’Our goal on this visit is to further strengthen our relations of friendship and cooperation with Portugal, between Portugal and Mozambique," he insisted.

According to data presented at the event, the latest official statistics from this year indicate that 13,704 Mozambicans live in Portugal, of whom 4,673 have been granted legalised residence.

The Mozambican community present at the meeting recalled that this was the first visit to Porto by a President of Mozambique in 26 years, after the inauguration of the consulate in the city by the then Head of State Joaquim Chissano.

The community admitted to the Mozambican president that they faced difficulties in Portugal in terms of "recognition of qualifications", access to opportunities and "significant bureaucracy".

The implementation of a Mozambique Cultural Centre in Portugal, to host shows and celebrations, "instead of expensive hotels", was one of the community's requests to Daniel Chapo, as well as the provision of "more scholarships" to study at Portuguese universities, including in the areas of health, civil aviation, defence and journalism.

They also called for improvements to the justice system in Mozambique, a "transparent" electoral system and more Mozambican citizens to exploit natural resources.

In response, Daniel Chapo guaranteed that teams would be sent from Mozambique to reinforce the issuance of documents at consulates in Portugal, including the issuance of Mozambican driving licences, another of the needs identified by the community.

He explained, once again, the goal of laying the "foundations for economic independence" during this term of office, using the resources resulting from the export of natural gas, in which it is already one of the largest producers in Africa, "but not totally dependent" and diversifying with a focus on tourism and agriculture.

"We cannot turn this blessing into a curse. We must turn this blessing into a real blessing for all Mozambicans," said Chapo.

Mozambique and Portugal are expected to sign a "record" number of legal instruments to strengthen cooperation between the two states at Tuesday's bilateral summit in Porto, Mozambique's minister of foreign affairs Maria Manuela Lucas said ahead of the meeting.

"I think it will be a record. Portugal said that the record they already had was with Brazil. But I think that with Mozambique we will have a record. I think they had up to 19 agreements with Brazil. I think we have about 21 agreements. There are some that are still being fine-tuned," the head of Mozambique's diplomacy told journalists.

The sixth Portugal-Mozambique Summit will take place on Tuesday in Porto, attended by Mozambican president Daniel Chapo and Portuguese prime minister Luís Montenegro, as well as around two dozen members of the two governments.

The legal instruments to be signed, including cooperation agreements and memoranda of understanding, involve the two states directly, but also public companies from both countries.

PVJ/AYLS // AYLS

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