Afreximbank’s chief economist told Lusa on Friday that, Mozambique’s biggest challenge is “to create conditions to expand its production and industrial base,” adding that the bank is “looking closely” at the country.

“The biggest challenge is to create conditions to expand production and an industrial base” in Mozambique, which is very focused on the natural gas projects that may transform the country, said Hippolyte Fofack.

In an interview with Lusa during the The African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) Annual Meetings, that ended on Saturday in Abuja, Fofack explained that “adding value to raw materials” is something the bank will want to “aggressively exploit in Mozambique, a country the bank is looking very closely at. ”

Afreximbank’s chief economist recalled that the Afreximbank’s chairman was in Mozambique last year and said that he “would come back”, also announcing that Afreximbank is currently making an analysis on the economic situation in Mozambique.

Image result for Hippolyte Fofack
Hippolyte Fofack is chief economist and director of research at the African Export-Import Bank. . He is associate editor of the Journal of African Development and editorial board member of the Journal of African Trade. He is also a fellow of the African Academy of Sciences

“We are writing a ‘country paper’ on the Mozambican economy, looking at the debt issue, we are also working with the International Monetary Fund to have a set of accurate figures and looking into the debt issue closely. We can advise on what Mozambique must do to get on the right track, not only in relation to debt sustainability but also, and more importantly, on how to take advantage of the economic cycle to ensure that the economy continues on a strong growth path,” said the economist.

Afreximbank, Annual Meetings are being held in Abuja, the capital of Nigeria until Saturday, to support bank for trade, exports and imports in Africa, was established in Abuja, 1993. It has a capital of US$11.9 billion and is based in Cairo.

The shareholders are public and private entities divided into four classes that include African governments, central banks, regional and sub-regional institutions, private investors, financial institutions, credit export agencies and private investors, as well as non-African financial institutions and individual investors.

Source: Lusa