Maputo, 4 May (AIM) – Mozambican President Filipe Nyusi on Thursday asked Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, in Japan’s capacity as a member of the G7 group of most developed countries, to look at the question of the proliferation of terrorism and wars in Africa.
Nyusi proposed cooperation between the G7 and the African Union in order to staunch this phenomenon.
Nyusi made this request because, as from the end of May this year, Japan will hold the rotating presidency of the G7, and will thus be in a better condition to influence the most developed economies to look with attention at the conflicts in Africa.
The Mozambican leader made his request in Maputo during a meeting with Kishida, who is on a one day working visit to Mozambique, intended to strengthen bilateral cooperation and increase economic ties between the two countries.
“In the talks I had with Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, I shared with him the political, economic and social situation of the country, and the situation of terrorism in Cabo Delgado province”, said Nyusi. “Since Japan will chair the G7 as from the end of May, I asked that this body should look at the proliferation of terrorism and war in Africa”.
Nyusi stressed the instability in the Sahel, and in parts of central and southern Africa, as well as the conflict in Sudan. This insecurity, he said, demands concerted and coordinated action by the various global blocks to restore peace in the regions affected by the conflicts.
He described his meeting with the Japanese Prime Minister as “fruitful”. Friendly relations of economic cooperation had been strengthened, which could result in the expansion of investment by Japanese businesses in agriculture, energy, infrastructures, mining and other areas.
Nyusi thanked the Japanese government for its strategic partnership with Mozambique, and stressed the importance of Japanese aid in mitigating the effects of the natural disasters that have struck Mozambique.
Kishida said that he had listened to the concerns of Mozambique, and was open to working with Mozambique as a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council and as a country suffering from terrorism.
He guaranteed that his visit to Mozambique, and to Africa in general, is intended to understand the vision of the continent towards security, bearing in mind that Japan is about to take over the presidency of the G7 with a clear agenda of “no to war and to the proliferation of nuclear weapons”.
He promised to carry to the G7 “messages of unity and against aggression. We are paying attention to the situation of terrorism and to the situation in Sudan”.
Kishida said 50 Japanese business people are on his delegation. They hope to explore the windows for business opportunities in various sectors of the Mozambican economy.
(AIM)
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