The government of Mozambique will issue national identification cards to more citizens of the country that live abroad, Rádio Moçambique reports.

The state-owned broadcaster quotes Alberto Sumbana, a spokesman for the issuing authority, as saying cards will now be issued to Mozambicans in China, Ethiopia, Germany, Kenya, South Africa and the United States.

The purpose is to issue identification cards more promptly while the COVID-19 pandemic persists, Rádio Moçambique quotes Mr Sumbana as saying.

Separately, the Portuguese news agency, Lusa, reports that officials working in the South African city of Johannesburg, where many Mozambicans live, received 104 applications for cards in just one month.

Mozambicans living in Malawi, Swaziland, Tanzania and Zimbabwe will be the next to have their cards issued, Lusa quotes Mr Sumbana as saying.