Maputo, Mozambique, 22 Feb – The German government said Wednesday in Maputo it would increase its aid to Mozambique to 92.5 million euros in the 2007-2008 period, after granting 68.5 million euros in the previous two years.

The announcement was made at the end of a two-day meeting between delegations for the two government to review bilateral cooperation and analyze future projects.

Ralf Schroeder, director of the Southern Africa Department of the German Development Ministry, said that the Berlin government would hand over an extra 20 million euros to the Mozambican government, to be used for basic and technical education.

During the ceremony that closed the two-day meeting, Schroeder said that one of the reasons for the rise in German aid was the progress Mozambique had made in fighting poverty.

The director for Europe and America of the Mozambican Foreign Affairs Ministry, Elias Zimba said that the German aid would be used mainly for education, rural development, market development and support for micro-credit initiatives. (macauhub)