Mozambique and Rwanda have signed an agreement under which Kigali will extend its military presence in the southern African country’s insurgent-hit Cabo Delgado province.
The Status of the Force Agreement (SOFA) on support to fight terrorism in Mozambique was signed on Wednesday by Mozambique’s National Defence Minister Cristóvão Artur Chume and Rwanda’s Minister of Defence Juvenal Marizamunda.
The agreement, which extends the mandate of Rwandan troops in Mozambique’s Cabo Delgado province, was signed in the presence of visiting Mozambican President Daniel Chapo and President Paul Kagame of Rwanda.
Since mid-2021, around 1,000 Rwandan Defence Force soldiers and police have been deployed to help Mozambique contain an Islamic State–linked insurgency that has upended the gas-rich province.
The two presidents also witnessed the signing of a memorandum of understanding between the Rwanda Development Board (RDB) and the Investment and Export Promotion Agency of Mozambique.
The MOU was signed by RDB chief executive Jean Afrique and Mozambique’s High Commissioner to Rwanda, Amade Miquidade
Chapo is on a two-day working visit to Rwanda and had earlier on Wednesday met with Kagame in Kigali to strengthen bilateral ties.
This is Chapo’s first official visit to Rwanda since assuming office early this year.
The visit builds on previous engagements, including their last meeting in February on the sidelines of the African Union Summit in Addis Ababa.
Chapo’s delegation includes senior ministers from defence, foreign affairs, finance, planning and civil service, underscoring the strategic importance of the visit.
JN/APA