The government of China plans to finance the construction in Mozambique of an Industrial Wood Processing Park under a memorandum of understanding recently signed in Maputo by representatives of the two governments, according to Mozambican daily newspaper O País.
The industrial park, resulting from the recognition by the Chinese government of the efforts made by its Mozambican counterpart to ensure the sustainable exploration of this forest resource, is intended to add value to the product and encourage the development of local industry.
The Memorandum of Understanding signed by the Mozambican Minister for Land, Environment and Rural Development Celso Correia includes the development of a bilateral coordination platform to transfer technology, offer institutional training and improve the business climate in the timber sector.
The same document provides Mozambique with reliable information on the amount of timber leaving the country for China and for the two countries to collaborate in the exploration, transport, sale and export of timber.
The signing of this memorandum of understanding consolidates the initiatives of the Mozambican government to combat the illegal timber trade, which is thought to have led to state losses of many hundreds of millions of dollars over the last 10 years.
Source: Macauhub
