President Halonen: Development aid should be transparent and efficient

Financial crisis in not a reason to forget global issues, said President of the Republic of Finland Tarja Halonen on Wednesday, 5 November at the Presidential Palace. President Halonen met with President Armando Emílio Guebuza of Mozambique, who was on an official visit to Finland on 4 - 6 November. The joint press conference is available as a video recording on the Internet. According to President Halonen, development cooperation should be transparent and it should also be viewed critically. “Development cooperation must aim for the best possible results. Sometimes direct budget support is needed, sometimes bilateral development projects are best. Most important is the dialogue between our countries. In this way, a more efficient development cooperation can be build”, President Halonen said. The discussion between the Presidents particularly focused on cooperation in developing the private sector and technology.

President Guebuza and president Halonen.
Copyright © Office of the President of the Republic of Finland

President Guebuza and President Halonen emphasized the warm relations between Mozambique and Finland. President Guebuza stressed that the cooperation extends to the time before Mozambique’s independence in 1975. “We remember when a group of Finnish young ones collected money for our liberal movement”.

Mozambique is a long-term development partner

According to President Guebuza, the global financial crisis does not affect Mozambique directly. “Indirectly, it affects our trade, especially what products we sell and what we buy”, he said.

Mozambique is one of Finland's long-term development cooperation partner countries. In 2007, Finland's bilateral development aid to Mozambique was around 20 million euros. Cooperation is centred on the sectors of health education and rural development. In 2009, Finland coordinates international cooperation work in Mozambique.

On Wednesday, President Guebuza also met Prime Minister Matti Vanhanen and visited the Parliament. On Thursday, 6 November, President Guebuza laid a wreath at the Hietaniemi cemetery and met with Finnish business representatives as well as Mozambicans living in Finland.

Webcast of the joint press conference