The Portuguese Prime Minister, Antonio Costa, on 1 September expressed his appreciation at the progress made in the Disarmament, Demobilisation and Reintegration (DDR) of the residual forces of Renamo, the largest opposition party in Mozambique.
The Portuguese PM, on a two-day official visit to Mozambique at the invitation of President Filipe Nyusi, was talking to the press after he was received in a courtesy audience by the chairperson of the Mozambican parliament, the Assembly of the Republic, Esperanca Bias.
The DDR is part of the Peace and National Reconciliation Agreement signed in August 2019 by President Nyusi and Renamo leader Ossufo Momade. Under the Agreement, a total of 3,558 of Renamo's claimed 5,221 armed men have already been demobilised and some incorporated into the Mozambican Defence and Security Forces.
In all, 12 of the 16 Renamo bases have been dismantled, and the DDR process is currently underway in the northern province of Niassa.
Costa also expressed his willingness for the Mozambican and Portuguese parliaments to strengthen their cooperation. He stressed that the relations between the two sovereign bodies should have a significant and direct impact on the peoples of the two countries. "In democratic states, bilateral relations are not only between governments but also between parliaments, since they are bodies that, in their plurality, represent the people", Costa explained.
For her part, Esperanca Bias noted that "we remain committed to strengthening our relations of friendship and cooperation. The friendship between the countries also passes through the cooperation between the two parliaments". She added that Portugal has been assisting Mozambique, especially in the fight against terrorism that is plaguing parts of the northern province of Cabo Delgado. "Portugal has been with Mozambique in the most difficult moments", she stressed.
She also pointed to the support provided in assisting the victims of natural disasters, including the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Portuguese PM's official visit to Mozambique had been postponed twice. The first was in November 2021, because the parliamentary elections in Portugal were brought forward, and the second last June because of the worsening situation of forest fires in Portugal.
