Mozambique declares solidarity with Ukraine, General Cooperation Agreement on the horizon – Lusa

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Mozambique declares solidarity with Ukraine, General Cooperation Agreement on the horizon – Lusa

3:33 CAT | 17 Oct 2022

Photo: Photo: Maxim Subh on Facebook

Mozambique on Friday declared “solidarity with the Ukrainian people” and called for “dialogue to end the war” after a meeting in which delegations from the two countries announced they were preparing a General Cooperation Agreement.

“The deputy minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation reiterated Mozambique’s solidarity with the Ukrainian people, as well as the desire for peace to swiftly return to the territory,” the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation (Minec) announced in a statement.

Deputy Minister Foreign Manuel Gonçalves received a delegation led by special representative of Ukraine for Africa, Maksym Subkh, in Maputo.

Mozambique has chosen to abstain on United Nations resolutions condemning Russia’s action.

READ: UN condemns Russia’s annexation move: How did countries vote?

On Friday, Deputy Minister Gonçalves expressed “the need to combine efforts to find a negotiated solution to the conflict”, urging “all interested parties” to engage in “dialogue for an end to the war in Ukraine”.

The Mozambican deputy foreign minister reiterated Mozambique’s commitment, “when it takes up its seat as a non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council, to support initiatives leading to a negotiated and peaceful solution” to the conflict.

Maksym Subkh said he hoped for “successes” in the exercise of that mandate, the MINEC statement added.

“The two deputy ministers agreed to continue to work together with a view to strengthening cooperation” and took for granted the will to strengthen “the legal basis governing bilateral cooperation, and committed to conclude a General Cooperation Agreement”, the statement concluded.

Maksym Subkh is continuing a tour of Africa started last week by the Ukrainian Foreign Minister, Dmytro Kuleba, a tour he interrupted on Monday to return to Kiev due to escalating tension in the conflict.

Speaking to Lusa on Thursday, Kuleba referred to the visit of his deputy minister to Maputo, in search of an “honest conversation,” even if this does not immediately mean that Mozambique will exchange abstention for condemnation of Russia.

Also on Friday, the deputy speaker of the Ukrainian parliament, Oleksandr Korniyenko, was received by the Speaker of the Mozambican parliament, saying that Ukraine “will need the maximum possible assistance from partners” and “especially from Mozambique, which was elected as a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council”.

Mozambique will occupy its seat for a two-year (2023-2024) term, starting on January 1.

This is the first time we contacted the Republic of #Mozambique on a parliamentary level, with President Mrs. Esperança Bias. We’ve discussed security issues and resolving of food crisis. Hope to strengthen our cooperation. 🇲🇿🤝🇺🇦 pic.twitter.com/J3eZxz8IF1

— Oleksandr Korniyenko (@OlekKorn) October 14, 2022