Mozambique reduced its direct debt to the Brazilian state by 11.1% in three months, to US$25.6 million by the end of September, according to the latest government report on public debt. According to the document, with data up to the third quarter of 2025, direct debt to Brazil accounted for 0.3% of Mozambique’s total external debt. The reduction compared with the end of the second quarter — when the debt stood at almost US$29 million — occurred in the period preceding the visit of Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva to Maputo in November.
Meanwhile, on 26 November, the Brazilian Senate’s Economic Affairs Committee (CAE) approved authorisation for a restructuring agreement covering another component of the debt, mainly related to overdue payments by Mozambique to the state-owned development bank BNDES, amounting to US$143 million. The measure stems from a 2024 proposal by Brazil’s Presidency, submitted under an urgent procedure by Senator Fernando Farias to be converted into a draft resolution, according to information from the Senate. The decision followed the Brazilian President’s visit to Mozambique on 23 and 24 November, during which Lula da Silva pledged to relaunch relations with the African country, particularly in the economic sphere, signing nine legal instruments in Maputo across several sectors.
Under the project approved by the Senate, the first instalment of US$6.7 million is to be paid by Mozambique 60 days after the signing of the future agreement, followed by 10 semi-annual instalments covering the remaining balance, with an annual interest rate of 3.6%. “If payment is not made on time, default interest of 1% above the interest rate will apply,” the text adds. The document states that Mozambique’s debt to Brazil is made up of arrears from two operations, the first relating to “outstanding credits from the Debt Restructuring Agreement signed by Brazil and Mozambique in 2004”.
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“Due to the economic crisis caused by the covid-19 pandemic, several countries, under a multilateral agreement, suspended debt payments. In Mozambique’s case, the request for suspension was submitted in 2020,” the information notes, adding that the second operation relates to financing for the construction of Nacala International Airport, in Nampula province. The African country “stopped paying the financing from the National Bank for Economic and Social Development (BNDES) in 2017”, with the instalments due having been “indemnified” to the state-owned bank by the Brazilian government, “which is now the creditor of Mozambique’s debt”.
On 24 November in Maputo, the Brazilian President said Brazil is “back” in Africa, signalling a renewed commitment to Mozambique in sectors such as agriculture, food security, energy and biofuels. “I see enormous potential to move forward together in energy, biofuels, health, agriculture, defence and technology. Brazil has everything it takes to contribute to food security in Mozambique,” Lula da Silva said at the close of the economic forum between the two countries in Maputo.
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