Meeting between Nyusi and Dhlakama is “very significant step” – Mozambican academic

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Meeting between Nyusi and Dhlakama is “very significant step” – Mozambican academic

12:00 CAT | 08 Aug 2017

File photo / Lourenço do Rosário

Lourenço do Rosário, rector of the Polytechnic University, Mozambique’s oldest private university, yesterday said he considered the meeting between Mozambican president Filipe Nyusi and Renamo leader Afonso Dhlakama “a very significant step”.

“It’s a very significant step, it’s a very good step,” do Rosário told Radio Mozambique.

The academic said that Filipe Nyusi showed statesmanship when meeting the Renamo (National Resistance of Mozambique) leader “in the Gorongosa district, where Afonso Dhlakama took refuge in 2015”.

“The president demonstrated statesmanship, seeking to solve [Moazambique’s] security problems by all means available and once and for all,” do Rosário said.

The Polytechnic University rector said that the country must pay attention to the two leaders’ next steps, since the issues that divide the government and Renamo are still inplay.

“Renamo has to disarm and integrate its men into the Defence and Security Forces and the government must decentralise the country,” do Rosário said.

President Nyusi and Renamo leader Afonso Dhlakama met on Sunday to discuss the next steps in the peace process, according to a statement released by the Mozambican presidency.

The two, who met in Gorongosa, “discussed and agreed on the next steps in the peace process, which they hope will be concluded by the end of the year.”

The statement said that the two leaders “agreed that they would continue their dialogue and closely monitor the work of the two commissions, aiming for a new meeting to prepare for the final steps soon”.

The presidency press release was sent to the Lusa news agency, accompanied by photos of Nyusi and Dhlakama during the meeting

Source: Lusa