MOZAMBIQUE’S former island capital and once-thriving Arabic trade city, Ilha da Mozambique, may soon be revived to its former glory as part of a multi-million dollar project to rehabilitate the archipelago off the coast of Nampula province. It was the country’s capital for nearly 400 years until the seat moved to Maputo in 1898 and was an important trading post for Persians, Indians, Arabs and Chinese long before Vasco da Gama’s arrival in 1498. Its rehabilitation is now on the agenda of an international conference that begins in Maputo on Wednesday to raise funds to revive the archipelago. About 140 people are expected at the conference on Wednesday, which will include officials from Unesco, Unicef, and a number of European countries.