Русский
The Russian Foreign Minister, Sergey Lavrov, has met with Maria Lucas, the Foreign Minister of Mozambique in Moscow. Mozambique lies along the east African coast and acts as a link between the Indian ocean and the heart of the African continent.
This is what Lavrov had to say in a de-briefing after the discussions:
“We used our meeting to assess our accomplishments over the past several years based on the agreements reached by the presidents of Russia and Mozambique, and to outline the paths that will enhance our strategic partnership in bilateral economic, military-technical, social, humanitarian, and cultural cooperation. We have also exchanged opinions on ways to interact and to coordinate our actions at the UN in the future.
June 25 marked the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations between our countries and Mozambique’s independence. Today, we reaffirmed that the principles underlying bilateral cooperation and mutual support, which were tested during the struggle against colonialism, have retained their importance and are guiding our respective governments’ policies today.
These principles include traditional relations of friendship, equality, and mutual respect. We welcomed the unwavering intention of Mozambique’s new leadership and personally President Daniel Chapo to deepen multifaceted ties with our country based on these very principles.
We highlighted regular contacts between our respective presidents who met at the Russia-Africa summits in 2019 and 2023. Today, we reviewed the progress in implementing the existing agreements. I am confident that the top-level dialogue will continue for the good of our relations.
Our respective legislative bodies cooperate closely as well. A cooperation agreement has been signed between the Federation Council and the Assembly of the Republic of Mozambique. Parliamentary friendship groups have been established.
We emphasised party-to-party cooperation. United Russia and the Mozambique Liberation Front (FRELIMO) interact closely, including in multilateral formats. Mozambique is represented at the Permanent Committee of the For Freedom of Nations! Movement established after the February 2025 Moscow Forum of Supporters of the Struggle against Modern Practices of Neocolonialism.
Our respective ministries and foreign policy agencies closely communicate, which, without a doubt, promotes our relations across all areas.
Today, we discussed the importance of trade and economic ties. The Intergovernmental Commission for Economic and Scientific and Technical Cooperation is operational. Last year, it held a session in Maputo, and next year it will meet in Russia. We discussed the challenges arising from the fact that new people will take the positions of co-chairs. We look forward to them establishing contacts as soon as possible in order to take a close look into the plenary session agenda. We agreed to come up with specific proposals for this event, including greater involvement of Russian companies in implementing economic projects in Mozambique.
We will continue to provide humanitarian aid to our friends, including under the school meals programme, which has been implemented since 2017 under the auspices of the UN World Food Programme. Today, we discussed Mozambique’s new government project To Each District Its Own Hospital. Without a doubt, Russia will take part in it.
We discussed cooperation in the humanitarian sphere. Russia has traditionally trained personnel for Mozambique at Russian higher education institutions. Seventy-five Mozambican students are admitted annually to study in Russia under a government quota. We can increase this quota. We expressed appreciation to our Mozambican friends for their efforts to promote and teach the Russian language at one of the country’s leading university in Mozambique.
In addition to the Intergovernmental Commission for Economic and Scientific and Technical Cooperation, we also have a long-standing tradition of interaction in the military-technical area overseen by the Working Group on Military and Technical Cooperation, which meets regularly.
We reiterated our willingness to consider all our Mozambican friends’ requests regarding strengthening their defence and counter-terrorism capabilities. Unfortunately, such threats still persist in Mozambique and other African countries.”
“Madam Lucas spoke about the government in Maputo working on implementing national rebirth objectives, as it continues to overcome lingering threats in northern Mozambique, to normalise the situation, and to create proper environment for return to peaceful life.
We discussed other conflicts in Africa, including the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Great Lakes region, the Sahel-Sahara zone, and the Horn of Africa, as well. As a permanent member of the UN Security Council, Russia will continue to support efforts aimed at creating conditions for a just resolution of these conflicts not through externally imposed schemes, but based on the African solutions to African problems principle. This is the way forward to a reliable and sustainable settlement.
At the UN, Russia and Mozambique have overlapping or close positions on most matters. Both countries participate in the Group of Friends in Defence of the UN Charter established in 2021, which is helpful in that regard. The group convenes regularly and issues statements on key issues, such as preventing the revival of colonial practices, opposing interference in the internal affairs of sovereign states, rejecting unilateral restrictive measures (sanctions), to name a few, that are circulated at the UN.
We reviewed the implementation of the agreements reached at the two Russia-Africa summits in Sochi in 2019 and St Petersburg in 2023, as well as the outcomes of the first Ministerial Conference of the Russia-Africa Partnership Forum, held on November 9-10, 2024, in Sochi. We also covered preparations for the second ministerial conference in Egypt this autumn.
We are quite satisfied with the outcomes of the talks. The dialogue will continue. Madam Lucas kindly invited me to once again visit Maputo. I will definitely do so.”
Lavrov also touched on the subject of making bank transfers to Africa under Western sanctions and if any progress was being made to provide alternatives. He said “These mechanisms have been long in place; they are being improved and refer to a broader use of national currencies, among other things. Time has now come to reckon with objective reality. This process will definitely take a while. We certainly have mechanisms of financial settlements to be used with our African friends and other trade partners, and these mechanisms are effective.”
Mozambique’s Economy & Russian Trade
Mozambique’s economy remains heavily reliant on natural resources, with extractive industries driving growth. Agriculture, which employs over 72% of the population. Mozambique’s exports are dominated by large projects in the extractive sector (coal, gas, rubies and heavy sands), accounting for 60% of overall exports. Overall, the main manufacturing products in Mozambique include wheat flour; food; beverages; aluminium; petroleum products; textiles; cement; glass; and tobacco.
Mozambique became the 47th nation to ratify the African Continental Free commerce Area (AfCFTA) on January 9, 2023. The AfCFTA aims to increase intra-African commerce and remove trade obstacles.
Mozambique has a population of 34 million and a GDP (PPP) of US$46 billion. GDP per capita (PPP) is US$ 2,383. Mozambique’s anticipated GDP growth for 2025 is 4.3%.
Mozambique took part in Russia’s ‘Great African Expedition’ designed to assess fish stocks on its Indian Ocean coastline, with a view to developing maritime and fish processing joint ventures.
Mozambique’s trade with Russia is about US$60 million and gradually increasing. Trade is mostly agricultural based, with Russia exporting wheat and fertilizers, and Mozambique exporting tea. There are development opportunities.
Further Reading
