Maputo, 1 Jun (AIM) – The Russian Foreign Minister, Sergey Lavrov, claimed on Wednesday that Russia is willing to support Mozambique in the fight against violent extremism that has plagued the province of Cabo Delgado, in the far north of the country, since October 2017.
“On the basis of our experience of cooperation we are willing to provide our Mozambican friends with a range of equipment, both for strengthening the country’s security and for fighting terrorism”, Lavrov said, at a press conference held in Maputo, minutes after an audience granted to him by President Filipe Nyusi.
In fact, Russia has already been involved in Cabo Delgado. In 2019, mercenaries of the Russian Wagner group were deployed to fight the Islamic terrorists in Cabo Delgado. But they left after a few months, having achieved nothing.
Lavrov expressed willingness to reactivate the Commission for Technical-Military Cooperation between Mozambique and Russia, which for five years was closed due to Covid-19 pandemic.
Lavrov’s visit comes in the context of preparations for the Second Summit of the Russia-Africa Business Forum, to be held next July in St. Petersburg.
According to Lavrov, there are several Russian companies willing to enter into partnerships with Mozambican counterparts, which is why he invited Mozambique to participate in the event.
“We are studying the possibility of our entrepreneurs entering the Mozambican market in various projects”, he added.
Speaking on behalf of the Mozambican government, the Minister of Public Works, Carlos Mesquita, said that during the meeting President Nyusi shared the country’s holistic strategy to combat terrorism.
The strategy, according to Mesquita, is based on three pillars, namely: strengthening the fighting capacity of the Mozambican Armed Forces (FADM); Promoting the Development of an Integrated Socio-Economic Programme in Cabo Delgado and the neighbouring provinces of Nampula and Niassa, and the provision of emergency humanitarian support
“The President also expressed his desire to strengthen relations, in the political, diplomatic, economic, commercial and socio-cultural fields between the two countries”, he noted.
According to Mesquita, Nyusi also addressed the stage of the Disarmament, Demobilization and Reintegration (DDR) of the former militia of, the largest opposition party, Renamo, which is in its conclusive phase. Mesquita said that the DDR is an important contribution to the reestablishment of peace and reconciliation in Mozambique.
Lavrov is visiting the country five months after Mozambique was unanimously elected a non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council. Lavrov was in Maputo just a week after a visit by the Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba, who expressed an interest in opening a Ukrainian embassy.
According to the Zitamar News Agency, Mesquita told Lavrov that Mozambique had made “the sovereign decision to allow a Ukrainian embassy in Maputo”.
In a note on his Facebook page, Nyusi lamented the continuing war between Russia and Ukraine, and reaffirmed his call for dialogue and negotiation to end the conflict “on a basis of mutual respect and without pre-conditions”.
(AIM)
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