In Seville, Mozambique consolidated alliances and strengthened its voice in the global debate - ...
President Nyusi makes his first official visit to the Vatican on Thursday and Friday
1:07 CAT | 11 Sep 2018
File photo: Reuters
Mozambican President Filipe Nyusi will pay an official visit to the Vatican on Thursday and Friday, at the invitation of Pope Francisco, the presidency of the Republic announced in a statement.
The head of state will hold official talks with the pope and has scheduled meetings with Cardinal Pietro Parolini, secretary of state of the Holy See, as well as with the Community of Sant’Egidio and with the Mozambican community residing in Italy.
“The visit to the Vatican is fundamentally aimed at deepening relations of friendship, solidarity and cooperation between Mozambique and the Vatican,” the statement said.
Filipe Nyusi will travel with the Ministers of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, José Pacheco, of Labour, Employment and Social Security, Vitória Diogo, and of Justice, Constitutional and Religious Affairs, Joaquim Veríssimo.
He is also accompanied by the Mozambican ambassador to the Holy See, Amadeu Conceição, as well as representatives of the presidency and other state institutions.
The Catholic Church has been one of the key players in the peace process in Mozambique, a role pointed out by Nyusi a few weeks ago in a congratulatory message addressed to Edgar Peña Parra, apostolic nuncio of Mozambique, who has been assigned to a new position in the Vatican.
“Today, we are sure that the effective and lasting peace that the Catholic Church in general and his holiness Pope Francisco in particular have always unconditionally supported is an irreversible certainty, as Mozambicans, every day, reconcile themselves in the construction of their common destiny,” the head of state said.
The government of the Mozambican Liberation Front (Frelimo) and the Mozambican National Resistance (Renamo) are negotiating a new peace agreement after the unrestricted ceasefire announced in December 2016 by opposition leader Afonso Dhlakama, who died due to health complications on May 3 this year.
The weapons have since fallen silent in the conflict zone in the centre of the country, and ongoing negotiations include agreements for the decentralisation of power and the disarmament and reintegration of the remaining Renamo forces.
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Source: Lusa
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