MAPUTO /Mozambique/, July 9. /TASS/. Mozambican President Daniel Chapo shared plans for economic modernization and the development of cooperation with Moscow with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.

Following his meeting with the leader of Mozambique, Lavrov drew attention to the continued dependence of many African countries on their former colonial powers and other Western nations. "Africans are quite rightly interested in ensuring that their abundant natural resources are not exported abroad in raw form but are processed locally, so that value is added within the very countries where these resources originate," he noted.

"In line with this logic, President Chapo today shared with us his ideas regarding further economic reforms in Mozambique and the opportunities he sees in the development of our bilateral cooperation. In this regard, we agreed to take into account key aspects of Mozambique’s plans for economic reform and modernization while preparing for the meeting of the Russian-Mozambican intergovernmental commission on trade and economic cooperation," Lavrov said.