The first Mozambican postgraduate student to earn a doctorate at the Institute of South-South Cooperation and Development in Beijing has received the diploma conferring the degree from Chinese Ambassador to Mozambique Wang Hejun, says the Chinese Embassy in Maputo.

The embassy issued a written statement saying Mr Wang presented the diploma on August 3.

The statement quotes Mr Wang as saying he hopes holders of degrees earned at the Institute of South-South Cooperation and Development will contribute to the enhancement of Sino-Mozambican exchanges of lessons learnt from experience of governance.

The statement quotes the postgraduate as saying developing countries such as Mozambique can use China as a point of reference in pursuing their own development.

Over 50 authorities in their fields from developing countries, three of them Mozambicans, have earned degrees at the institute since it opened in 2015.