Filipe Nyusi declares “complete willingness” to work with Marcelo

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Filipe Nyusi declares “complete willingness” to work with Marcelo

10:22 CAT | 26 Jan 2016

Notícias ao Minuto / Filipe Nyusi.

The Mozambican head of state congratulated Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa on his election as President of the Republic of Portugal on Monday and declared “full availability” for both to work toward deepening relations between the two countries.

In a message to Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, the winner of the presidential elections held in Portugal on Sunday, Filipe Nyusi expressed the hope that good relations between the Republic of Mozambique and the Portuguese Republic would continue.

“I express my complete willingness to work with you so that relations between the Republic of Mozambique and the Portuguese Republic will continue to be consolidated for the economic and social progress of our peoples and countries,” said Filipe Nyusi in a message to Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa.

Expressing “great satisfaction” with the outcome of the vote and addressing “wishes of much success” for his presidential term, the head of the Mozambican State said he was convinced that with this election, “the bonds of friendship that have always united our two peoples and countries will continue to be strengthened and deepened.”

For Filipe Nyusi, the historic partnership between the two countries has been expressed in the “excellent relations of friendship, solidarity and cooperation and significant progress in the economic sphere,” highlighting the increase in Portuguese investment in Mozambique.

The head of the Mozambican state also said that he interprets the choice of the Portuguese electorate as “a proof of recognition of the personal and professional qualities” of Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, which is characterized by the “integrity, commitment and dedication” he has shown during his political career.

Speaking to Lusa, preceding a visit to Maputo in early December, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa said that, if elected, he expected to contribute to a “natural understanding” in relations with Mozambique, a country that the new elect president said he considers to be his “second home”.

“Whatever functions I assume in the future, in Mozambique there is a special treatment, a special care and a natural understanding that goes through many of the Mozambican people, much of them responsible for the closer relations between countries, institutions, economies, cultures and universities,” said the then presidential candidate.

In December 2015, the former political annalist participated in the first Social and Economic Forum in Mozambique (Mozefo), held in the Mozambican capital, a city where he spent part of his youth during some of the time his father, Baltazar Rebelo de Sousa, was governor-general of the former Portuguese colony.

Relations between Portugal and Mozambique have been marked in recent years by meetings at the highest level with the Portuguese President, Aníbal Cavaco Silva, who was the only non-African head of state to attend the inauguration of Filipe Nyusi, on January 15, 2015.

The new Mozambican President, in turn, chose Portugal for his first state visit outside Africa, in July last year.

On Sunday, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa was elected President of Portugal with 52% of the vote, a percentage higher than the 50.5% achieved in the first election by his predecessor, Cavaco Silva in 2006.

The former leader of the Portuguese Social Democrat Party (PSD) and a professor in Lisbon University’s Law School became the fifth President of the Portuguese Republic.

According to data from the Portuguese Ministry of Internal Affairs, Marcelo won 52%, followed by Sampaio da Nóvoa (22.89%), supported by independent personalities from the Socialist party (PS); Marisa Matias (10.13%), supported by Bloco de Esquerda (BE): Maria de Belém (4.24%), militant of the PS, Edgar Silva (3.95%), supported by the Portuguese Comunist Party ( PCP), Vitorino Silva (3.28%), Paulo de Morais (2.15%), Henrique Neto (0.84% ), Jorge Sequeira (0.3%) and Cândido Ferreira (0.23%). Abstention stood at 51%.

Source: Lusa