The Mozambican President, Filipe Nyusi, pointed out on Wednesday 10 January that security is a fundamental condition for attracting investment to the country, considering that stability is a government priority.
“Nobody invests where there is no security. Although terrorism in Cabo Delgado is one of the main challenges, Mozambique needs to create security conditions against all kinds of threats, so that there is a good business environment,” said the statesman during a meeting in India with the Mozambican business community.
The head of state recalled that the country has economic potential and that it is necessary to “look for solutions and, in every moment of obstacle, be persevering and resilient”.
The province of Cabo Delgado has been affected by a conflict since 2017 that has terrorised the population. Groups of armed rebels have pillaged and massacred villages and towns all over the province and a variety of attacks have been claimed by the ‘arm’ of the self-proclaimed Islamic State in that region. The conflict has already caused more than 4,000 deaths (data from The Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project) and at least one million displaced people, according to an assessment made by the Mozambican authorities.
The meeting between the head of state and the Mozambican business community in India comes ahead of a business forum between the two countries, as part of the 10th edition of the Gujarat Global Summit [a global forum for business and networking, knowledge sharing and strategic partnerships for inclusive growth and sustainable development of countries].
At this event, Mozambique has a pavilion in which it is exhibiting mainly national products and potential in the areas of agriculture, mining, fishing and fruit growing, as a way of attracting investment from other countries.
Filipe Nyusi is in India for a four-day working visit. His trip comes at a time when the Mozambican side is discussing blocking the export of pigeon peas to India. The transaction is the result of a memorandum of understanding with Mozambique, signed in 2016, providing for exemption from customs duties for Indian importers.
India is the largest producer and consumer of pigeon peas, and in recent weeks the Indian press has reported a 10 per cent rise in the price of the product in the country in two months, precisely because of the difficulties in importing from Mozambique.
