U.S. Embassy
Avenida Kenneth Kaunda, 193
Caixa Postal, 783
Maputo
MOZAMBIQUE
PRESS RELEASE
August 13, 2021 – The U.S. Embassy welcomes the visit of a delegation from the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) to Mozambique, headed by Country Director Kenneth Miller. The delegation has been in Maputo for two weeks to define the goals and plans for Mozambique’s second MCC compact in close coordination with National Coordinator of the Gabinete de Desenvolvimento do Compacto II Higino de Marrule.
The MCC’s mission is to pursue poverty reduction through economic growth. In December 2020, the U.S. Embassy in Mozambique announced that the second MCC compact in Mozambique will focus on improving agriculture and rural transport and improving the business and investment climate, two national priorities identified by the Government of the Republic of Mozambique. MCC programs are also designed to leverage private capital, support women’s economic empowerment, and combat climate change.
“The Millennium Challenge Corporation Compact is a compact with the people of Mozambique,” said U.S. Ambassador Dennis W. Hearne. “The Compact process presents an invaluable opportunity to build trust around public investment and government efficacy. Ultimately, the second MCC Compact has the potential to catalyze transformational development in Mozambique.”
The MCC delegation has already met with partners from the Mozambican Government, including Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation Verónica Macamo, Minister of Economy and Finance Adriano Maleiane, , Minister of Agriculture and Food Security Celso Correia, Minister of Transport and Communications Janfar Abdulai, Ministry of Public Works and Housing and Water Resources João Osvaldo Machatine, Minister of Land and Environment Ivete Maibasse, Minister of Industry and Commerce Carlos Mesquita, Ministry of Gender, Child and Social Action Nyelete Mondlane, and Minister of Oceans, Interior Waters, and Fisheries Augusta Maíta. The delegation will continue to meet with representatives of the Government of the Republic of Mozambique, the private sector, civil society, and other international partners.
Created in 2004, MCC is an innovative U.S. Government foreign assistance agency designed to deliver programs that reduce poverty in developing countries through economic growth. MCC and the Government of Mozambique developed a five-year, $506.9 million compact in 2008 to invest in water and sanitation, roads, land tenure, and agriculture. Through investments like the construction of 614 rural water points in Nampula and Cabo Delgado provinces, the number of people with access to clean water more than doubled.
For more information about this press release, please contact the U.S. Embassy Maputo Press Office at MaputoPress@state.gov.
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