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Prince Rahim arrived in Maputo on Wednesday night for a three-day visit, during which he will meet senior state officials and leaders of the Jamat, and attend the inauguration ceremony of the Aga Khan Academy Maputo.

Prince Rahim’s visit began at the Ministry of Gender, Children, and Social Welfare for a meeting with Minister Nyeleti Brooke Mondlane. The Minister congratulated Prince Rahim on the inauguration of the Aga Khan Academy Maputo, as she fondly recalled her childhood, when she and her siblings attended Aga Khan schools in neighbouring Tanzania.

Prince Rahim also visited the Presidential Palace in Maputo, where he met with President Filipe Nyusi. Prince Rahim conveyed Mawlana Hazar Imam’s greetings and warm wishes to President Nyusi, and acknowledged the long-standing relationship between the Ismaili Imamat and Mozambique.

They discussed matters of mutual interest, including socio-economic development efforts in Mozambique, the presence and activities of the Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN), and plans to strengthen the formal relationship between the Ismaili Imamat and the Republic of Mozambique in the future.

AKDN agencies have been present in Mozambique for over two decades, working to improve quality of life in the country and wider region, through the areas of education, health, tourism, agriculture, civil society, and infrastructure.

Milestone AKDN projects include the rehabilitation of the historic Polana Serena Hotel, one of Africa’s grandest hotels; a Coastal Rural Support Programme that supports entrepreneurship and skills development in the country’s poorest northern districts; and the Moztex garment factory, which employs and trains over 700 staff, more than 90 per cent of whom are women. AKDN’s projects in Mozambique have directly reached over half a million beneficiaries since 2001.

Prince Rahim then travelled to the Parliament building to meet with Esperança Laurinda Bias, President of the Assembly of the Republic. The President thanked Prince Rahim for his visit to Mozambique and praised the work of AKDN in the country, especially in the Cabo Delgado province.

On Thursday evening, Prince Rahim visited the Presidential Palace Ponta Vermelha, official residence of the President, where he was the Guest of Honour at a state banquet hosted by President Filipe Nyusi in honour of Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, the President of Portugal, who is also visiting Mozambique.

On Saturday March 19, Prince Rahim will be inaugurating the Aga Khan Academy in Maputo with Their Excellencies, The President of the Republic of Mozambique and The President of the Republic of Portuga