Mozambique’s Minister of Defence, Cristóvão Chume, carried out a courtesy visit to the Rwandan security forces stationed in the Mocímboa da Praia district, in Cabo Delgado province, northern Mozambique. According to a statement, the minister was accompanied by the Deputy Commander of the Mozambican Armed Forces (FADM), Tomás Francisco João Mponha, as well as other senior officers.
The statement further notes that Chume and his delegation were received at the Headquarters of the Rwandan Security Forces (RSF) by the Joint Task Force commander, Cooper Mike Mujuni, and senior staff officers, who briefed them on the current security situation and ongoing operations in the area.
During the visit, the minister expressed appreciation for the Rwandan forces’ crucial contribution to the fight against terrorism in northern Mozambique, particularly in Cabo Delgado.
According to a communiqué cited by Club of Mozambique, Chume also reaffirmed the Mozambican government’s commitment to strengthening long-standing friendship and bilateral cooperation between the two countries.
The Government of Rwanda announced on Tuesday, 19 May, that it will maintain its troops in Cabo Delgado, where they are assisting in counter-terrorism operations, while criticising what it described as reluctance in response to its requests for financial support from the European Union (EU).
In a message posted on X and cited by Lusa, Rwandan Foreign Minister Olivier Nduhungirehe said Rwanda has decided to negotiate exclusively with the Government of Mozambique, which in turn has assured that it will continue to provide the necessary funding for Rwandan security forces’ activities.
He stressed that cooperation between the two governments has been successful and will continue, noting that Rwanda’s presence in Cabo Delgado is recognised by Mozambique. He also said that past European Peace Facility support represented only a small fraction of Rwanda’s real operational costs and EU investments in the province.
Nduhungirehe further argued that Rwanda’s involvement, invited by Mozambique in 2021, has helped restore stability, allowing families to return home, children to go back to school, businesses to reopen, and security conditions to improve for major investments in liquefied natural gas projects.
These developments come as EU financial support for the operation is set to end this month, after 36 months and a total of €40 million in funding. Meanwhile, the United States has imposed sanctions on the Rwanda Defence Force (RDF) over the conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo, despite its involvement in Mozambique.
Since October 2017, Cabo Delgado, a resource-rich province particularly known for natural gas reserves, has been affected by an armed insurgency that has killed thousands and displaced more than one million people.
In April 2025, attacks spread to neighbouring Niassa province. One of the most serious incidents occurred in the Niassa Reserve and the Mariri Environmental Centre in Mecula district, where armed non-state groups attacked facilities, looted property, destroyed camps and an aircraft, killing at least two people and displacing more than two thousand people, 55% of whom were children.
