The People's Republic of Mozambique is a very new member of the international community of independent and sovereign states, having gained its independence… on 25 June 1975. We have much to learn, which is what we hope to do at this Conference, and have many new challenges to face. But at the same time we have the benefit of ten years of armed liberation struggle, and the wide experience of organising and administering vast areas of our country which were gradually freed from Portuguese colonial domination.