President Paul Kagame and his Mozambican counterpart Filipe Nyusi on Thursday, January 25 held talks in Kigali. Their discussions centred around “ways to further strengthen the existing productive bilateral cooperation in various areas of mutual interest,” Village Urugwiro said on Friday morning. Rwanda and Mozambique cooperate in ways that include military operations in the Southern African country’s province of Cabo Delgado, where their armed forces fight against Islamic State-linked terrorists. ALSO READ: Cabo Delgado: Over 250,000 people return home, sea, air ports re-open In a Facebook post on Friday, President Nyusi said his working visit lasted “a few hours” and that with President Kagame they discussed ways of “addressing issues of bilateral cooperation, deepening and strengthening the friendly ties between the two peoples and countries.” His visit came three days after that of Admiral Joaquim Mangrasse, the Chief of General Staff of Mozambique’s Armed Defence Forces (FADM), who met with General Mubarakh Muganga, Chief of Defence Staff of Rwanda Defence Force (RDF). Mangrasse said their discussions centred around the two countries’ collaboration in combating terrorism. ALSO READ: Cabo Delgado: Over 90% terrorist-hit area secure – Mozambican general ALSO READ: Resilience: Women at forefront of Cabo Delgado's reconstruction Last evening in Kigali, President Kagame received President Filipe Nyusi of Mozambique for a discussion on ways to further strengthen the existing productive bilateral cooperation in various areas of mutual interest. pic.twitter.com/OWpdFfYI9v — Presidency | Rwanda (@UrugwiroVillage) January 26, 2024 In July 2021, Rwanda deployed troops to the region located off the coast of the Indian Ocean, at the request of Nyusi’s government. Joint operations by Rwanda Security Forces and FADM have uprooted the insurgents from most of the territory they controlled before the Rwandan deployment. More than 250,000 residents of Cabo Delgado, who were displaced by the insurgency, have returned to their homes. Economic activities have resumed in the coastal districts such as Palma, Mocimboa da Praia and Ancuabe, which had been paralysed by terrorist attacks since 2017. ALSO READ: Tunashukuru: Cabo Delgado residents thankful for Rwanda-Mozambique effort to purge terrorists Mozambican officials commend Rwandan troops for having done “a very good job” of combating members of the Ansar al Sunnah wal Jama’a group. The Islamist group, accused of killing more than 4,000 civilians and taking hostages, had wreaked havoc in six districts, namely Palma, Nangade, Muidumbe, Quissanga, Macomia and Mocimboa da Praia. A mission from the Southern African Development Community (SADC) operates in Nangade, Muidumbe and Quissanga. However, the Rwandan, Mozambican and SADC forces carry out joint operations from time to time. In December, the forces said they were planning to launch renewed attacks on the terrorists now located in a forested area in the district of Macomia.
