FILE PHOTO - Mozambique President Filipe Jacinto Nyusi addresses the United Nations General Assembly in the Manhattan borough of New York, U.S. September 21, 2016. REUTERS/Eduardo Munoz

MAPUTO (Reuters) - Mozambique will hold presidential, parliamentary and provincial elections on Oct. 15 next year, the presidency said on Wednesday, setting the date for a vote that will proceed the southern African country’s emergence as a major gas exporter.

President Filipe Nyusi set the date of the election, a notice on the presidency website said.

Mozambique is due to start exporting liquefied natural gas in 2022 from huge offshore fields operated by oil majors including Italy’s ENI and Exxon Mobil.