The Japanese government has pardoned debt owed to it by Mozambique in the amount of US$83.81 million, Mozambique’s deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, Eduardo Koloma said at the weekend.

“This pardon from the Japanese government means a saving for the Mozambican government and this amount will be consigned to other priority sectors,” said the deputy minister cited by the Mozambican press.

According to Koloma, the Japanese government’s decision was made at the recent Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD V), held in the Japanese city of Yokohama, at which Mozambique was represented by a delegation headed up by the country’s president, Armando Guebuza.

Koloma announced the pardon at ceremony with the Japanese ambassador to donate 3.805 billion yen to Mozambique (around US$38.21 million) to build bridges in the Cuamba district of Niassa province and Ilé, in Zambézia province, both in northern Mozambique. (macauhub)