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Lusa
Portugal’s defence minister, Azeredo Lopes, delivered 10 speedboats to the Mozambican navy in the framework of bilateral cooperation between the two states.
“These vessels will be used to guarantee the safety of inland waterways, carrying out patrols to affirm the sovereignty and authority of the state,” Lopes said.
The Portuguese minister was speaking during the signing of the vessels’ official delivery document within the Defence Cooperation Framework Programme renewed yesterday in Maputo.
The agreement will run until 2021 and is more comprehensive than previous technical-military cooperation protocols between Portugal and Mozambique, maintaining the training and teaching and exchange programs of the military.
Lopes said cooperation between Mozambique and Portugal was likely to be even more productive, at a time when threats to peace were ever more unpredictable.
Mozambique Defence Minister Atanásio Mtumuke replied that the agreement strengthened relations with Portugal, noting that the two countries had been collaborating for several years.
“The vessels we have just received will not only strengthen the Navy’s capacity, but will also contribute to search and rescue actions for populations affected by natural disasters,” he said.
The new agreement provides support for the creation of conditions for joint armed forces participation in peace and humanitarian missions.
Azeredo Lopes’s agenda in Mozambique includes a visit to the Higher Institute for Defence Studies today, Tuesday, while tomorrow he will visit Nampula Military Academy and give a talk on the contribution of the Portuguese Armed Forces to the promotion of peace and international security.
On Thursday, Azeredo Lopes will visit local authorities of the Island of Mozambique, which in September celebrates 200 years of elevation to city status.
A visit to the Centre for Strategic Analysis of the Community of Portuguese Speaking Countries (CPLP) in Maputo and the headquarters of the Association of Disabled Persons of the Portuguese Armed Forces in Mozambique is scheduled for Friday.
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