MAPUTO, Jan. 16 (Xinhua) -- Mozambique is expected to see further economic growth with the exploitation of natural gas in the next five years, said Salim Vala, chairman of the Board of Directors of the Mozambican Stock Exchange, on Wednesday.
The economist made the comment on the sidelines of the inauguration ceremony of reelected President Filipe Nyusi here, who was sworn in for a second term.
"We are positive that the resources generated by the exploration of natural gas will be important to strengthen and diversify our economy," said Vala.
Warning against "the curse of natural resources that happened in other countries," he said that the Mozambican government does not want to follow the same path.
Mozambique has the conditions to create a diversified economy, where natural gas will play an important role as it can be transformed internally to feed other industries, he added.
In addition, the government plans to create 3 million jobs in the next five years, which is "ambitious" compared with the last plan to create 1.5 million jobs, but "attainable through efforts," Vala said.
The last term of the government confronted several challenges from the economy, such as a 25-percent inflation rate as well as a reduction of international reserves, exports and direct foreign investment.
Recent indicators, including dropping inflation and stabilized exchange rates, suggest the economy is recovering.
According to the International Monetary Fund, Mozambique is expected to see a strong rebound in economic activity and low inflation, with its real GDP growth projected to reach 5.5 percent in 2020, from 2.1 percent projected for 2019.
