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Chapo’s Inauguration: ‘Mozambique’s Stability and Prosperity Are Also of Interest to Portugal’ – Paulo Rangel

Chapo’s Inauguration: ‘Mozambique’s Stability and Prosperity Are Also of Interest to Portugal’ – Paulo Rangel

The Portuguese Minister for Foreign Affairs, Paulo Rangel, who is in Mozambique to attend the swearing-in ceremony of the new Mozambican President, Daniel Chapo, said that all the positive or negative issues happening in the country also affect Portugal, and that it is therefore crucial that stability is achieved in the near future.

‘These are two brotherly countries, naturally we are interested in the fate of Mozambique, its well-being, stability, prosperity and development, which are also important to Portugal,’ he said on his arrival in Maputo’s Independence Square.

Rangel, who is attending the event on behalf of Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, the Portuguese head of state, emphasised that ‘this is an important moment to deepen relations between the two nations, so it’s up to me to represent the country in the best way.’

Regarding the message sent by Rebelo de Sousa to Mozambicans, the minister said: ‘Our President has a connection with Mozambique, in fact, all Portuguese have an intimate relationship with the country, so he sent a message of warmth and great hope, and that Mozambique can give its people ever greater and better conditions for prosperity, since it is a very young nation in age and with many teenagers who deserve a future.’

Accusations of bias by Venâncio Mondlane

On Tuesday 14 January, presidential candidate Venâncio Mondlane accused Paulo Rangel of bias and of ‘manipulating’ public opinion, saying that he has been following the post-election process in Mozambique.

‘There is no work done on your part in relation to dialogue in Mozambique. On the contrary, you’ve always been biased, you’ve always had totally sad positions, you’ve always used adjectives against me,’ said Venâncio Mondlane, addressing Rangel directly from his official Facebook account. Minister Paulo Rangel is ‘deceiving the Portuguese, Mozambicans and the international community’, he concluded.

Openness to dialogue with the opposition

In response to Mondlane’s statements, the Portuguese foreign minister emphasised that he ‘will always be available’ to talk to all political forces, including the opposition, and to civil society in Mozambique.

In a note sent to the Portuguese television station SIC, Rangel said that he stands by everything he said in Monday’s interview on SIC Notícias’ Edição da Noite, “without removing a single comma”.

‘The minister stands by everything he said, without taking out a single comma (…), in order to preserve the profoundly constructive spirit with which he goes to Mozambique,’ he began.

Rangel also said that he would always be available to talk to all the political forces and civil society in Mozambique, including the opposition political forces. ‘Furthermore, contacts with the opposition political forces are planned,’ he added.

Daniel Chapo, who will be sworn in as the fifth President of the Republic of Mozambique, was governor of Inhambane province when, in May 2024, he was chosen by the Central Committee to be the ruling party’s candidate to succeed Filipe Nyusi, who served two terms as President of the Republic.

On 23 December, Chapo, 48, was proclaimed by the Constitutional Council (CC) as the winner of the election for President of the Republic, with 65.17% of the votes. Having graduated in Law from Eduardo Mondlane University in 2000, the new head of state of Mozambique was born in Inhaminga, Sofala province, in the centre of the country, on 6 January 1977, making him the first President born since independence (1975).

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