Mawlana Hazar Imam and and His Excellency President Daniel Chapo of Mozambique today signed an agreement of cooperation to deepen relations between the Ismaili Imamat and the Republic of Mozambique. Building on a long history of cooperation between the two parties, the agreement covers a variety of sectors including education, health, culture, environmental protection and socio-economic development.
“This is an agreement that aims to strengthen the historic ties between Mozambique and the Ismaili Imamat, and to establish and consolidate partnerships in areas of common interest, with a particular emphasis on education,” stated President Chapo. “I personally had the privilege of visiting the Aga Khan Academy in Matola, Maputo province, which is truly impressive for training future leaders. Fifty years of independence is an auspicious occasion, and the signing of this agreement truly is a gift for Mozambique because we will achieve so much together.”
“We have a lot to be proud of today, and of what both of our predecessors, and their predecessors, accomplished in this country together,” said Hazar Imam. “The agreement that we signed today will allow us to deepen the friendship and collaboration. There is an exciting future ahead for us.”
Minister of Foreign Affairs Her Excellency Ambassador Manuela Lucas receives Mawlana Hazar Imam at Maputo Airport on his arrival in Mozambique.Photo: AKDN / Akbar Hakim
Hazar Imam is in Mozambique as a guest of the President. He will attend, alongside other Heads of State, the commemoration of the country’s 50th anniversary of independence this week.
This is his first visit to Mozambique since becoming, earlier this year, 50th hereditary Imam of the Shia Ismaili Muslims. His previous visit was in 2022 to attend the inauguration of the Aga Khan Academy in Maputo. He was received, upon his arrival yesterday, by the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, Her Excellency Ambassador Manuela Lucas. During his visit he also met the Chairperson of the Mozambican Parliament, the Assembly of the Republic, Her Excellency Margarida Talapa as well as the heads of the four parliamentary groups and the Chair of the Parliamentary Committee for International Relations, Co-operation and Communities.
The Aga Khan Development Network has been active in Mozambique since 1998, working to improve the quality of life of citizens through the Aga Khan Foundation, Aga Khan Schools and the Aga Khan Fund for Economic Development.
The Aga Khan Foundation has been operating in Mozambique since 2000. It implements integrated, innovative and gender-sensitive programmes in agriculture and food security; health and nutrition; work and enterprise; climate resilience; and civil society strengthening. Programmes prioritise vulnerable and underserved populations, including farmers, entrepreneurs, unemployed graduates, vulnerable women and children, and internally displaced people, amongst others. In 2024, AKF directly served more than 150,000 people across the provinces of Cabo Delgado, Niassa, Nampula and Maputo. Through its partnerships with government and civil society it reached a further 360,000 and 500,000 people, respectively.
In Maputo, the Aga Khan Academy, opened in 2013, offers co-educational, residential education and the International Baccalaureate (IB) curriculum to more than 400 students from 22 nationalities. Admission is based on merit and is means-blind. It is part of an integrated network of residential schools with other campuses in Mombasa, Kenya; Hyderabad, India; and Dhaka, Bangladesh. Its Professional Development Centre invests heavily in professional learning for teachers at local government schools. The Centre has to date trained more than 5,000 school educators and principals.
Sponsored by the Aga Khan Fund for Economic Development, Moztex is an export-oriented garment manufacturing company in Maputo province. It produces more than 5.5 million garments annually for export primarily to South Africa. It employs around 1,200 people, nearly 9 out of 10 of whom are women. It has continuously invested in training and has so far trained approximately 2,100 people.
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