Defence Minister João Gomes Cravinho said on Wednesday in Maputo that the challenges facing Mozambique are also Portugal’s, highlighting the proximity of the two countries and friendly relations.
For Gomes Cravinho, who is visiting Maputo at the request of hie Mozambican counterpart Jaime Neto, Mozambique and Portugal are close countries and, in the current situation, cooperation is essential, as “the dynamics that affect one can quickly affect the others”.
The Mozambican Defence Minister highlighted the good relations between the two states.
João Gomes Cravinho will be in Mozambique until Friday, with a view to negotiating a new programme of bilateral cooperation in the field of defence and closer relations with Africa under the Portuguese Presidency of the Council of the European Union, which will begin in January.
The visit takes place at a time when Mozambique is facing an armed insurgency with links to the ‘jihadist’ Islamic state group in the northern province of Cabo Delgado.
The violence is causing a humanitarian crisis with more than 2,000 deaths and 560,000 displaced people, without housing or food, mainly in the provincial capital, Pemba.
Portugal has already shown its willingness to support Mozambique in the fight against terrorism within what the country considers necessary, as has the EU.
