On 16 December, the governments of Catalonia and Flanders signed a foreign aid agreement to work together in Mozambique on a project that will contribute to reducing gender violence.
The Director General of Catalonia’s Foreign Development Aid and Development programme, Mr. Manel Vila, and the Secretary General of the Foreign Affairs Department of Flanders, Mr. Koen Verlaeckt, signed the agreement. The Mozambican ambassador Ms. Ana Nemba, as well as Catalonia´s Permanent Representative to the European Union, Mr. Amadeu Altafaj, attended the signing ceremony in Brussels.

The agreement will serve to finance the project “Advancing the Rights of Women and Children - WONG!¨ which will be implemented by ActionAid International Mozambique (AAMox). The objective of the project is to contribute to creating a safe environment, free of violence and sexual abuse for the women and children of the Marracuene and Manhiça districts in the city of Maputo.

Manel Vila declared that the two governments aim to “work together and in full coordination with the government of Mozambique, and to strengthen both the public health sector and the local organisations in the country. Increasingly, the effectiveness and efficiency of development cooperation to transform inequalities and promote the defence of human rights, particularly those of women, depends on the stakeholders’ ability to combine the synergies, resources and knowledge as well as step up cooperation and enhance a complementary relationship.”
Vila added that “the Catalan government is committed to this strategy of promoting coordination of all actors, NGOs, institutions and public administrations to foster a common cooperation policy, one which is transformative and based on quality standards; including also the exchange of experiences and the promotion of democratic governance. This is the main strength of this agreement.” 

Ambassador Nemba was very pleased that Catalonia and Flanders joined forces for a project so crucial for the wellbeing of girls and women in Mozambique.