Mozambique: Tony Blair meets Filipe Nyusi in Nampula – Carta

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Mozambique: Tony Blair meets Filipe Nyusi in Nampula – Carta

3:13 CAT | 03 Dec 2019

Tony Blair leaving the Grand Plaza hotel in Nampula on Sunday. [Photo: Facebook, Mohamed Latif]

A business trip took Tony Blair to Nampula urgently on Sunday, where he held a meeting with President Filipe Nyusi, who was in the northern capital to preside over the World AIDS Day 2019.

Tony Blair, former UK prime minister and former head of the Labour party, is not officially linked to the peace efforts in Mozambique, which have more recently won other diplomatic champions. But he still heads the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change, an entity whose aim is to “help make globalisation work for the many, not the few”.

A source contacted by ‘Carta’ said Blair was in Nampula dealing with business interests. He has become a lobbyist for British capitalism, with a huge ambition to enter into the extractive business in Mozambique.

Blair is described as having undisclosed business around here himself as well.

Tony Blair arrived in Nampula on a private flight, landing at the local airport at 3:00 a.m. on Sunday morning. Blair and his business delegation went to the luxurious Nampula Hotel, which belongs to cotton mogul Issufo Nurmamad, owner of the Sumeya cookie factory and father-in-law of Zair, who owns the Namialo Oil Factory and brother-in-law of Raja Hussen of the bankrupt Air Corridor.

ALSO READ: Angola: Former British Premier Tony Blair arrives in Luanda

After meeting Nyusi at a location ‘Carta’ was unable to determine, Tony Blair left Nampula at around 14.30 p.m. for Luanda. The Luanda press was reporting yesterday afternoon that Blair arrived in Angola for “a visit that aims essentially to enter into business contacts with potential national partners and the Angolan authorities.” ANGOP writes that “Tony Blair, who is part of a UK multi-sectoral delegation, is scheduled to meet President of the Republic João Lourenço this afternoon.”

On Monday afternoon, “Carta” asked the British High Commissioner in Maputo the purpose of Blair’s visit to Mozambique. “The visit was private,” an authoritative source responded.

The quasi-secrecy is curious. In Angola, Blair’s visit is being widely covered by the media, while in Mozambique, even AIM was not privileged to be informed. Because Tony Blair’s business is secret in Mozambique or because it is doesn’t look good to come and lobby a president, Filipe Nyusi, who hasn’t even taken office after winning a highly contested election which the European Union (of which the United Kingdom is still a member) wrinkled its nose at? Could this be it?

By Marcelo Mosse