Mozambique should bet on a structural change after overcoming the current debt crisis, noting that dependence on the extractive industry does not fight poverty, according to Guinean economist Carlos Lopes in Maputo.

“I think Mozambique is currently experiencing difficulties that are macroeconomic, but these are not even the deepest, the real change in macroeconomic policies must be at a structural level,” he said.

After resuming growth and overcoming the debt crisis, he continued, the country will have to focus on diversifying the economy to avoid dependence on gas and coal.