India Cements Ties With Mozambique
To strengthen strategic ties and bilateral cooperation with Mozambique, where India has sizeable economic investments, the two countries took a significant step by signing two important memoranda of understanding- agreement on sharing ‘white shipping’ information and cooperation in the field of hydrography- during the Defence Minister, Mr Rajnath Singh’s, just concluded 3-day visit to the African Nation.
Holding a bilateral meeting with his Mozambican counterpart, Mr.AtanasioMtumuke, Mr. Singh said India considers Mozambique among its most important friends and partners in Africa. As figures suggest, Indian investments in that country amount to $ 7 billion, mostly in energy and coal, accounting for about 25 per cent of Indian investments in Africa. In 2017, India was the largest destination for Mozambican exports, accounting for about 35 per cent of its total export revenue.
Little wonder that during the course of his first overseas visit as Defence Minister and which also happens to be the first bilateral visit by an Indian Defence Minister to Mozambique, he said the visit is likely to provide further momentum to the bilateral ties and strengthen the ongoing Indo-Mozambican defence cooperation and the potential of collaboration for enhancing security in the Indian Ocean region.
The Minister also announced assistance of communication equipment and highlighted the importance of working together to prevent non-traditional threats like smuggling, terrorism, piracy, poaching and overall cooperation in the maritime domain. In fact, two India-made Fast Interceptor Boats (FIBs) and 44 SUVs were handed over to Mozambique at a ceremony in Maputo. A 4-member Indian Coast Guard team is also assisting with training and support for maintenance and operation of these boats.
Earlier, the Mozambique defence minister briefed Mr Singh on the internal security situation and the ongoing Disarmament, Demobilisation and Reintegration (DDR) process. Mr. Singh discussed the entire spectrum of bilateral relations while meeting the Mozambican leaders and noted the excellent government-to-government ties, strong business exchanges, vibrant development partnership, and long-standing people-to-people links between the two countries.
He also called on the Mozambique Prime Minister, Mr. Carlos Agostinho do Rosario in Maputo and explored ways to boost defence and security cooperation between the two countries. The African country sought cooperation from India to deal with the growing menace of terrorism and radicalism.The two sides also explored ways for collaborating in enhancing security in the Indian Ocean region.
Apart from investment, the bilateral trade between the two countries has also been growing fast in recent years. The value of trade between the two grew five-fold between 2010and 2015, to reach a peak of US $ 2.4 billion in 2014-15. The most important export commodities from India are refined petroleum products and pharmaceuticals whereas coal and cashew have been leading items from Mozambique. There are about 20,000 Mozambican nationals who trace their ancestry to India.
As the Indian Defence Ministry put it, India shares close, warm and friendly relations with Mozambique which is cemented by robust development partnership and a large presence of the Indian Diaspora. The visit of the minister is expected to further strengthen relations with Mozambique.
It may be recalled that bilateral ties between the two countries are on upswing after the visit of Prime Minister NarendraModi to the African nation in July, 2016. In fact, it is not just Mozambique, but India has been stepping the intensification of its outreach to Africa ever since Mr.Modi took over as Prime Minister for the first time in 2014. There has been a rise in high-level visits to resource-rich Africa, especially since the 3rd India-Africa Summit in 2015. Since then, there have been 29 visits from India to Africa at the level of President, Vice President and Prime Minister besides other senior ministers. Even currently, the President, Mr. Ram NathKovind, is on a three-nation tour to West African countries.
Holding a bilateral meeting with his Mozambican counterpart, Mr.AtanasioMtumuke, Mr. Singh said India considers Mozambique among its most important friends and partners in Africa. As figures suggest, Indian investments in that country amount to $ 7 billion, mostly in energy and coal, accounting for about 25 per cent of Indian investments in Africa. In 2017, India was the largest destination for Mozambican exports, accounting for about 35 per cent of its total export revenue.
Little wonder that during the course of his first overseas visit as Defence Minister and which also happens to be the first bilateral visit by an Indian Defence Minister to Mozambique, he said the visit is likely to provide further momentum to the bilateral ties and strengthen the ongoing Indo-Mozambican defence cooperation and the potential of collaboration for enhancing security in the Indian Ocean region.
The Minister also announced assistance of communication equipment and highlighted the importance of working together to prevent non-traditional threats like smuggling, terrorism, piracy, poaching and overall cooperation in the maritime domain. In fact, two India-made Fast Interceptor Boats (FIBs) and 44 SUVs were handed over to Mozambique at a ceremony in Maputo. A 4-member Indian Coast Guard team is also assisting with training and support for maintenance and operation of these boats.
Earlier, the Mozambique defence minister briefed Mr Singh on the internal security situation and the ongoing Disarmament, Demobilisation and Reintegration (DDR) process. Mr. Singh discussed the entire spectrum of bilateral relations while meeting the Mozambican leaders and noted the excellent government-to-government ties, strong business exchanges, vibrant development partnership, and long-standing people-to-people links between the two countries.
He also called on the Mozambique Prime Minister, Mr. Carlos Agostinho do Rosario in Maputo and explored ways to boost defence and security cooperation between the two countries. The African country sought cooperation from India to deal with the growing menace of terrorism and radicalism.The two sides also explored ways for collaborating in enhancing security in the Indian Ocean region.
Apart from investment, the bilateral trade between the two countries has also been growing fast in recent years. The value of trade between the two grew five-fold between 2010and 2015, to reach a peak of US $ 2.4 billion in 2014-15. The most important export commodities from India are refined petroleum products and pharmaceuticals whereas coal and cashew have been leading items from Mozambique. There are about 20,000 Mozambican nationals who trace their ancestry to India.
As the Indian Defence Ministry put it, India shares close, warm and friendly relations with Mozambique which is cemented by robust development partnership and a large presence of the Indian Diaspora. The visit of the minister is expected to further strengthen relations with Mozambique.
It may be recalled that bilateral ties between the two countries are on upswing after the visit of Prime Minister NarendraModi to the African nation in July, 2016. In fact, it is not just Mozambique, but India has been stepping the intensification of its outreach to Africa ever since Mr.Modi took over as Prime Minister for the first time in 2014. There has been a rise in high-level visits to resource-rich Africa, especially since the 3rd India-Africa Summit in 2015. Since then, there have been 29 visits from India to Africa at the level of President, Vice President and Prime Minister besides other senior ministers. Even currently, the President, Mr. Ram NathKovind, is on a three-nation tour to West African countries.
Script: Vinit Wahi, Journalist
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