Botswana helping re-establish peace in Mozambique's Cabo Delgado province

GABARONE, Botswana

Botswana’s deployment of troops to assist in the fight against jihadist terrorism in the northern Mozambican province of Cabo Delgado is leading to the re-establishment of peace in the areas affected by violent extremism, declared President Filipe Nyusi at a banquet offered in his honour in Gaborone by his Botswanan counterpart, Mokgweetsi Masisi.

Botswana, said Nyusi, had always supported efforts to secure peace in Mozambique, and so was now part of SAMIM, the military mission in Mozambique established by the Southern African Development Community (SADC).

“The sacrifice made by the courageous youths of the Botswana Defence Force on the battlefield will never be forgotten”, he added. “And it will not be in vain, because it is returning peace and stability to areas previously affected by terrorism and violent extremism”.

Ending the violence was one of the top priorities for the two countries, said Nyusi, but it was also fundamental to stimulate their economies.

“We think it sensible to prioritise cooperation in the area of mineral resources and energy, and to take advantage of the abundance of natural resources, such as natural gas, hydro-electric power and other renewable sources of energy, in order to guarantee our own energy security and that of our brother countries in SADC”, he continued.

He challenged the business community in both countries to take a more daring attitude faced with the existing opportunities.

Among those opportunities is the revival of the project for a new deep-water port at Ponto Techobanine, in Mozambique’s southernmost district of Matutuine, and a railway that will connect the port to Botswana via Zimbabwe. The possibility of building such a port has been on the drawing board for decades, and Nyusi hoped that this time it would really go ahead to improve regional port and rail logistics and facilitate exports.

For his part, Masisi insisted that Botswana is fully committed to the struggle against terrorism. “The peace, security and stability of our region are the main priorities of Botswana’s regional cooperation agenda now, just as they were when I was chairperson of the SADC organ for defence and security cooperation. We are not going to give up. The success of SAMIM is fundamental for our goals and must be achieved”.

Speaking to Mozambican reporters covering Nyusi’s visit, Foreign Minister Veronica Macamo said the government has still received no explanation as to why the Somali Prime Minister, Muhammed Hussein Roble, attempted to expel from the country senior Mozambican diplomat Francisco Madeira, who is the African Union envoy to Somalia.

Roble declared Madeira persona non grata and accused him of committing “actions incompatible with his status”. He was given 48 hours to leave the country.

But Somali President Mohammed Abdullahi Farmaajo rejected the accusation, and described the attempted expulsion of Madeira as “an illegal act”. He pointed out that only the President has the authority to expel a foreign diplomat.

Macamo said the government is pleased that Farmaajo has given Madeira his support. She pointed out that the African Union gave this job to Madeira because of his vast experience, and that his purpose is only to assist Somalia.