Mozambique
The Republic of Mozambique in southeastern Africa borders the Indian Ocean, Tanzania, Malawi, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Swaziland and South Africa. Colonized by the Portuguese in 1505, Mozambique developed a rigorous logistics infrastructure with international ports and routes. However, after several anti-colonial wars, Mozambique won its independence in 1975, upon which it eventually developed itself to be a multi-party democracy.
Mozambique’s foreign relations policy has become increasingly pragmatic since the 1970s, and it currently sits in the moderate portion of the African bloc in the United Nations.
Between 1993 and 1999, the economy grew significantly at more than 10% annually. With the natural flooding disasters in 2000, the GDP growth rate diminished, but it has rebounded quickly to average 7% annually. The country, with solid economic policies and control over inflation, is expected to continue to grow healthily each year.
Mozambique remains an indigenous culture, with various influences from the different ethnic populations that live in the country. The most prevalent language used in Mozambique is Portuguese, followed by other different indigenous languages, such as Swahili, Makhuwa, zSena, Ndau, and Shanggan.
Madagascar
The Republic of Madagascar is a nation island off of the southeast shorelines of Africa in the Indian Ocean. Madagascar, the worlds’ fourth largest island, contains 5% of all animal and plant species, such as the baobab, bird species, fossa, and primates of the lemur infraoder species.
With a strong influence from the Malayo-Polynesian former inhabitants, Madagascar was home to several French ports, and it was a destination point for historical pirates and sailors. Ruled under French colonization, Madagascar gained its independence in 1960 and shifted between democracy and socialism, with its current government solidly established as a democratic republic.
The country’s economy is mainly based upon agricultural industry, with its major exports being coffee, cloves, vanilla, sugarcane, beans, and other goods. Since 2000, Madagascar has done quite well in completing the IMF and World Bank HIPC Initiative, and with additional foreign investment, the country will certainly be able to economically grow through new venues such as tourism and light textile manufacturing.
Madagascar has over 19 million people in its population, which is mainly comprised of Austronesian and African origin.
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