Mozambique: Portugal ‘available to join military forces or other EU support’ for country

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Mozambique: Portugal ‘available to join military forces or other EU support’ for country

12:32 CAT | 18 May 2021

Photo: Twitter / @antoniocostapm

The Portuguese prime minister, António Costa, said this Tuesday, after a meeting with President Filipe Nyusi, that Portugal was “available to join” in the sending of military forces or other means of support for the country decided within the European Union.

“The European Union is currently generating the forces for a technical and training team in Mozambique, and we are available to integrate other forces and other support that may be necessary,” the Portuguese prime minister told journalists at the end of his meeting with the Mozambican head of state.

António Costa is today participating in the Summit on the Future of African Economies, hosted in Paris by the French president, Emannuel Macron, which will bring together more than 20 African and European leaders.

Encontrei-me com o Presidente Filipe Nyusi, à margem da Cimeira sobre o Financiamento das Economias Africanas, em Paris. Abordámos a gestão da pandemia, as relações bilaterais e a situação em Cabo Delgado. #Moçambique pode contar com a solidariedade concreta de #Portugal. 🇲🇿🇵🇹 pic.twitter.com/xbI2ZLWdIw

— António Costa (@antoniocostapm) May 18, 2021

In his bilateral meeting with Filipe Nyusi, the situation of terrorism in Cabo Delgado was one of the main topics of the conversation, with António Costa recalling that Portugal had always supported efforts to fight terrorism developed by other partners such as France, especially given the possibility of French intervention on the ground.

“We have been talking with European partners, such as France. We have supported France in other actions and remember that after the terrorist attacks in Paris, Portugal mobilised a force that has been active in the Central African Republic for more than five years […] When it comes to friends as close as Mozambique, the expectation we have is that our European partners will join in the support,” António Costa affirmed.

The Portuguese prime minister also recalled that Portugal already has a military training force on the ground, stressing that their shared language was “an enormous advantage” in delivering support to Mozambique.

Regarding Covid-19, António Costa reiterated that Portugal would, from the end of June, donate 5% of its Covid-19 vaccines to Mozambique and other Portuguese-speaking countries.

Source: Lusa