A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lifts off from pad 40 at the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station carrying the 29th batch of approximately 60 satellites as part of SpaceX's Starlink broadband internet network, May 26, 2021. (Photo: CFP)

MAPUTO, Feb. 23 (Xinhua) -- The National Communications Institute of Mozambique (INCM) said Wednesday that the country will be able to improve its digital inclusion particularly in the rural areas as the internet service provider Starlink, a SpaceX project, has been approved to operate in the country.

"I would like to thank SpaceX for selecting Mozambique to be its first partner and the first country in Africa to introduce its internet services that will mitigate and facilitate access to internet in the country, increase digital inclusion and consequently social inclusion," said Tuaha Mote, INCM Chairman, at the lisence hand-over ceremony in Maputo.

The chairman said the government has been working to expand, modernize and diversify communication technologies through cooperation with other partners.

"SpaceX is part of these efforts to attract investors to enter our market, and we are ready to facilitate this process," said the chairman.

The chairman said the new internet service will complement the current technologies in the country and guarantee that all citizens, regardless of their geographic position, can have access to communication technologies.

With the new internet options, the government of Mozambique also expects to boost the public education sector which has been affected by the pandemic of COVID-19.