Mozambican president Filipe Nyusi will begin a visit to Rwanda on Wednesday to strengthen “bilateral cooperation” and take part in the Africa CEO forum, to be held in Kigali, the presidency announced in a statement.
“On the sidelines of the summit, the country’s president will hold a meeting with his Rwandan counterpart, Paul Kagame, to exchange views on strengthening bilateral cooperation relations,” the presidency said in the document sent to the media today.
At the forum, Filipe Nyusi will moderate a panel on “Investing in Mozambique”, as part of his working visit to the country from today until Friday.
The Mozambican Head of State is travelling accompanied by the Minister of Industry and Trade, Silvino Moreno, and the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, Manuel Gonçalves.
Filipe Nyusi’s visit comes at a time when Rwanda has acknowledged the possibility of reinforcing the current military contingent of more than 2,000 men in Cabo Delgado, in northern Mozambique, in view of the ongoing departure, scheduled until July, of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) mission, which is also supporting the fight against armed insurgency in that province.
When asked in April about Rwanda’s availability, the President of Mozambique did not want to give details.
“We’re not going to explain how we’re going to work there,” Filipe Nyusi said on April 18, guaranteeing only that Mozambique is in the process of training the national defence and security forces, while “humanitarian assistance” and the “reconstruction of those areas where they have been destroyed” are taking place.
Cabo Delgado province has been facing an armed insurgency for six years, with some attacks claimed by the extremist group Islamic State, which has led to a military response since July 2021, with support from Rwanda and SADC, liberating districts near gas projects.
Lusa
