Tánaiste, Minister for Foreign Affairs and Minister for Defence, Micheál Martin TD has today (Wednesday), met the President of Mozambique, Filipe Nyusi, at the President’s office in Maputo.
The Tánaiste and President Nyusi discussed the long-standing partnership between both countries. Mozambique is Ireland’s second largest international development partner, reflected in the particularly close engagement in the areas of education and health.
They also discussed the current political and humanitarian situation in Mozambique, including the upcoming municipal elections and shared concerns regarding the ongoing conflict in the northern province of Cabo Delgado. As well as supporting the EU Training Mission in Mozambique, Ireland provides significant direct humanitarian support to the province.
“I was delighted to meet President Nyusi today to reiterate the importance and strength of the excellent Ireland-Mozambique bilateral relationship. Ireland and Mozambique share many of the same foreign policy objectives, particularly the importance our two countries place on multilateralism,” said the Tánaiste.
“I took the opportunity to congratulate President Nyusi on Mozambique’s impressive work to date during the first semester of their mandate as a non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council. As Ireland knows from our recent experience, this is a demanding, but deeply rewarding role,” he continued.
“We also discussed Russia’s illegal war of aggression in Ukraine. Ireland and the EU are deeply concerned over the impact of the war on global food insecurity, particularly with regard to those in the most vulnerable countries. I condemn Russia’s withdrawal this week from the Black Sea Grain Initiative.
“Ireland has been an active supporter of the ongoing Mozambique peace process, providing technical and financial support since 2017. As our experience on our own island shows, peace requires determination and vision. I commend President Nyusi for his leadership throughout this challenging process and congratulate Mozambique on the completion of the disarmament and demobilization phase of the process last month.
“There is great potential to build even stronger relationships with Mozambique, as well as opportunities to increase our economic, trade and investment connections. Ireland is committed to strengthening these strands of our partnership further and to deepening our bilateral relations and I look forward to building on these strong foundations into the future,” the Tánaiste concluded.
