The Mozambican President, Filipe Nyusi, said that the Mozambican Canal (an arm of the Indian Ocean located between the countries of Madagascar and Mozambique) should be ready for the circulation of ships, should the Suez Canal (an artificial waterway at sea level located in Egypt, between the Mediterranean Sea and the Red Sea) become unavailable.
Speaking on Monday 27 May at a press conference to mark the end of his two-day official visit to the Comoros, the statesman expressed his willingness to continue cooperating with that country in the area of maritime navigation.
‘In the past, when the Suez Canal had difficulties penetrating, the Mozambique Canal was used, so we must always be prepared to enable the circulation of ships from neighbouring countries in difficult times,’ he explained.
The head of state said that in the last ten years, relations between the two nations have become stronger, especially in the area of maritime security, pointing out that the economic and commercial areas are fundamental to further cementing cooperation with that country.
‘The Comoros has various products that it can export to Mozambique, and it can use the ports of Nacala and Pemba,’ he said.
In that country, Filipe Nyusi took part in the investiture ceremony for Azali Assoumani, who was re-elected to the post of President of the Union of the Comoros on 14 January.
Assoumani won the elections with 57.2 per cent of the vote, according to the Comoros Supreme Court, in what will be his third term in office, which will allow him to remain in power until 2029.
The elections in the Comoros were marked by clashes in January in the capital Moroni, after the provisional results were announced, with the five opposition candidates denouncing fraud and irregularities in the ballot.
The leader first came to power in 1999 through a coup d’état, but returned in 2016 and was re-elected in 2019.
