NEW DELHI: As India scouts for new energy sources, Mozambique has invited investment from the country in its hydrocarbon, coal and agriculture sectors.
Both countries also decided to boost defence cooperation, when Mozambique President Filipe Nyusi met Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday.
This is Nyusi’s first visit to an Asian country, after taking office in January.
Modi said the African nation could be a “large source” of coal and natural gas to drive India’s growth and that both sides agreed to step up engagement in key sectors. The two sides inked an MoU to have deeper engagement in the field of renewable energy, besides exploring ways to cooperate in areas such as defence, maritime security in the Indian Ocean Region, agriculture, railways and ocean economy.
Mozambique is estimated to have 200 trillion cubic ft of offshore gas reserves and has the potential to become a leading LNG producer globally on a par with Qatar and Australia. ONGC Videsh and Oil India have already made an investment of $8 billion in Mozambique.
It is rich in coal and has one of the largest coal reserves in Africa. Coal India Limited has also been active in the country, besides a consortium of PSUs.
“Mozambique can be a large and proximate source of natural gas, coal and other minerals, that are so important to drive our growth. It also offers huge opportunities in agriculture sector,” Modi said.
Navtej Singh Sarna, Secretary (West) in the Ministry of External Affairs, said specific projects in coal and gas and railways sectors were discussed.