Marcelo: Lisbon and Maputo "take off" together towards the future

The Portuguese President, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, said this Thursday in Maputo, after being received by his Mozambican counterpart, that the two countries are “starting” together towards the future, which must be “executed quickly” because “people do not wait”.

“ We need to win the future. And win the hope of more people for that future. And we are together in this”, said Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, after the meeting, at the Presidency of the Republic, in Maputo, with the Mozambican head of state, Daniel Chapo, which lasted about 40 minutes.

“And the important thing about what we talked about today, and what will continue to be discussed next week, is that there are no cases”, stressed Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, recalling the presence with him of the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, Ana Isabel Xavier, and the Minister of Economy and Territorial Coercion, Manuel Castro Almeida.

“In short, those who have the economy and economic relationships with partners and sister partners, such as Mozambique, and have structural funds, some of which are of European origin: it is no coincidence that they are present in this delegation, because the Minister will be responsible for preparing and studying what cooperation will be between Mozambique and Portugal, Portugal and Mozambique, in the economic and financial fields, in this new cycle , with the idea that everything has to be thought out quickly, planned quickly and executed quickly, because time does not wait, people do not wait”, he said.

Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa participated on Wednesday in the celebrations of the 50th anniversary of the proclamation of Mozambique's independence — June 25, 1975 —, and Daniel Chapo will carry out a working visit to some European countries in the coming days, including Portugal, on July 3.

“I, who have been involved in politics for a long time, although it is not my professional occupation, have an exact idea of ​​what it was like to be involved in politics 40 years ago, 30 years ago, 20 years ago, 10 years ago. Time has accelerated. It accelerates every day. Needs accelerate. The pressure of needs accelerates. And, therefore, the response has to accelerate,” he argued.

“And now you understand why it was so important for the Portuguese President to be with the Government at this time and not at others. This is the greatest moment to remember the past, but above all to set off towards the future. And so we set off together. And that is the objective, to set off towards the future together”, said Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, speaking alongside Daniel Chapo, who was sworn in on January 15, a ceremony in which the Portuguese President was not present.

The Portuguese head of state also stated that what he has said in relation to Portugal, about the entry into a “new historical cycle”, also applies to Mozambique, starting with the “replacement of generations”.

“It means a new historical cycle. Some leave and others enter. Somehow, I realized that the same thing is happening with respect to Mozambique (…). We have the feeling, and returning here physically to Mozambique, to my second homeland, that it is not just about there being new people, there being new challenges and there being a new cycle , which begins at the same time in Portugal and Mozambique. And that it can and should be started hand in hand. And it is being started hand in hand”, he assured.

For Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, the challenges of both countries “are very much the same”, of sustainable economic development, “with social conditions, social justice, meeting those who have new needs”, in the Portuguese case “an older country, has an older part of the population, but in both countries, it has a new, young population, with new challenges ”.

“At the same time, we are concerned about having solid economic and financial collaboration for this, and always valuing what projects us in the world in terms of language, culture and universal openness. These are challenges that have another challenge, which is very new, which is the acceleration of time,” he concluded.

Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa arrived in Maputo at around 7:00 pm local time (6:00 pm in Lisbon) on Tuesday and left Mozambique late Thursday morning, with military honors at the air base in the Mozambican capital.