Maputo — Angola is supporting Mozambique in the fight against the Covid-19 respiratory disease by sending a tank of oxygen to Maputo, for hospitalised patients who need respiratory support.

A weekend statement from the office of Mozambican President Filipe Nyusi said that an Angolan military cargo plane will fly the tank of oxygen to Maputo on Monday.

Angolan President Joao Lourenco offered this support during a phone conversation with Nyusi on Sunday, part of the normal contacts between the two leaders.

During that phone call, according to Nyusi, the two presidents "exchanged information about the evolution of Covid-19 in the two countries, and in the region, and its impact on their respective economies".

They also swapped information on security matters, and Nyusi briefed Lourenco "on the fight against terrorism in Cabo Delgado province". Here groups with connections to the self-styled "Islamic State" (ISIS, or Daesh) have been mounting terrorist raids since October 2017.

An estimated 2,000 people have died in this raids, and over half a million have been displaced from their homes, fleeing to safer areas within the province, or to neighbouring provinces such as Nampula or Niassa.

Nyusi and Lourenco promised "to maintain regular consultations and to strengthen cooperation".