Filipe Nyusi, is confident that the US oil and gas company ExxonMobil will return to the liquefied natural gas (LNG) project in Area 4 of the Rovuma Basin, off the northern coast of Cabo Delgado province.
US oil company ExxonMobil has yet to present its final investment project, having stopped its activities in Cabo Delgado in 2021 because of the terrorist attacks that have killed thousands of people and displaced more than a million since 2017.
“ExxonMobil is a partner of Mozambique and we are working together. The oil company has assured us that the question is not whether it comes back or not, but when it comes back,” the Mozambican head of state said in statements to the press last Thursday, 15 December, in Washington, where he made a positive balance of his participation in the II US-Africa Summit.
Given the anti-terrorist actions implemented by the Defence and Security Forces of Mozambique and its allies from Rwanda and the Southern African Development Community Military Mission (SAMIM), Nyusi said that “ExxonMobil recognises the efforts being made in Mozambique, and I hope that at any moment they will resume their activities in the country.”
Quoted by the Mozambique Information Agency (AIM), Filipe Nyusi also said that the world has a positive expectation about the country as a future Non-Permanent Member of the United Nations Security Council, although each nation has its own interests.
“One of the striking moments is that the world has a positive expectation about Mozambique. It is also interesting the appreciation from all continents for the fact that Mozambique is a Non-Permanent Member of the United Nations Security Council”, said the Mozambican Head of State.
Elected unanimously by all members of the United Nations, last June, with 192 votes, Mozambique, replacing Kenya as African representative, will take office on 1 January for the 2023-2024 biennium.
“Mozambique has shown its vision of how it wants to work. We may not even meet the expectations of other countries, each one has its own interests. But we will try to choose the fairest path,” the President reiterated.
Also the US Secretary of State, Anthony Blinken, after a meeting with Filipe Nyusi last week, said: “we are very much looking forward to our collaboration when Mozambique becomes a member of the United Nations Security Council in January, but we are also strong partners – strong partners in helping Mozambique build stability, strong partners in jointly building global security, dealing with food insecurity. We really, really welcome this partnership.”
