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MOZAMBIQUE Ambassador to Indonesia Carlos Agostinho Do Rosario was named the African country’s new prime minister by President Filipe Jacinto Nyusi on Saturday, a source from Maputo said.“Ambassador Do Rosario was named prime minister of Mozambique on Saturday. He’s already in Maputo,” the source told The Jakarta Post yesterday.
Bloomberg confirmed the news about Do Rosario and the new Cabinet, quoting a presidential spokesman in Maputo on Saturday.
Nyusi, who won a national election with 57 percent of the vote in October 2014, was sworn in on January 15 and has appointed several ruling Frelimo Party loyalists, including Do Rosario, in his new government. Nyusi replaced long-serving president Armando Guebuza.
Ambassador Do Rosario, a seasoned politician who became a diplomat, submitted his credentials to then Indonesian president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono on November 6, 2009.
Prior to coming to Jakarta, he was agriculture minister.
A soccer fanatic, Do Rosario formed an African diplomats’ soccer team in Jakarta and organised many tournaments.
“I used to play in Mozambique’s junior national soccer team. I’ve always loved soccer,” Do Rosario, who hung up his boots due to age, told the Post recently.
During his five-year diplomatic career in Indonesia, he convinced businesspeople and investors from Indonesia and Mozambique to tap the potential of both countries.
Based on data from Indonesia’s Central Statistics Agency, bilateral trade between the two countries increased by more than 400 percent during the ambassador’s tenure.
Indonesia sees Mozambique, which is rich in coal and liquefied natural gas (LNG), as an important market in Africa.
Recent discoveries of LNG in Mozambique indicate it may become the world’s third-largest exporter in the coming years. Indonesia has exported cement, garments, palm oil, electronic goods, furniture, paper and tyres to Mozambique. — The Jakarta Post.
Online Reporter