France Donates Logistical Material
Maputo, 3 Feb (AIM) – France has donated logistical material to the Mozambican defence and security forces, to assist the fight against islamist terrorism that has been plaguing parts of the northern province of Cabo Delgado since October 2017.
The donation was delivered at the central port of Beira on Tuesday. The equipment includes folding camp beds, mosquito nets, folding tables and blankets. This was brought to Mozambique on board the frigate, the “Floreal”.
Speaking in Maputo on Thursday, a spokesperson for the French defence ministry, Arnaud de Basquiat, said the donation reflects the strengthening of the friendship and cooperation between France and Mozambique in the defence sphere.
He said the material is “survival equipment” initially intended for the French defence forces. It was taken directly from the stocks in the warehouses of the French armed forces.
Speaking at the same ceremony, the Mozambican Minister of the Sea, Inland Waters and Fisheries, Lídia Cardoso, said that in the fight against terrorism, Mozambique is counting on support from various friendly forces, including France.
Cardoso added that the presence of a French frigate in Mozambique’s territorial waters clearly and unequivocally expresses the cooperation between the two countries in defence and security.
Despite the distance between Mozambique and France, both countries are facing common challenges, she said, which are of a global nature. This includes the fight against illegal, undeclared and unregulated fishing.
Cardoso expressed the interest of the Mozambican state in counting on the support and experience of France in the fight against illegal fishing through providing more sophisticated coastal surveillance equipment.
The “Floreal” arrived in Maputo on Thursday, and will remain moored in the Mozambican capital until Monday.
(AIM)
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