Pres Zuma concludes Mozambique state visit

Friday, May 22, 2015

Pretoria - President Jacob Zuma has returned to South Africa after wrapping up his two-day state visit to Mozambique.

President Zuma used his visit to discuss issues of mutual interest with his counterpart, President Filipe Nyusi, in particular matters regarding bilateral, regional and continental cooperation.

Both Presidents agreed to establish a Bi-National Commission which will enable continuous monitoring and implementation of decisions taken, the Presidency said in a statement issued at the end of the visit.

They also discussed the current energy challenges and agreed to work together to benefit from the resources in both countries and to have better coordinated programmes. This comes as load shedding is being implemented due to South Africa’s strained power grid and gas reserves have been discovered in Mozambique.

Mozambique recently discovered natural gas deposits in large commercial quantities. The discovery could contribute billions of dollars to the economy and catapult Mozambique into the world’s third largest exporter of liquefied natural gas.

President Jacob Zuma said the two Presidents had tasked their respective energy ministers to immediately explore gas energy and have practical programmes to address this matter.

He also used the state visit to apologize to the Mozambican nation - whom he described as "friendly, warm and accommodative to their brothers and sisters for centuries” - for the recent attacks on foreign nationals.

"On behalf of the people of South Africa, I have apologised and offered condolences to President Nyusi, affected families and the people of Mozambique for the recent attacks against foreign nationals, including Mozambican citizens,” said President Zuma.

He gave a detailed report on what South Africa and the appointed Inter-Ministerial Committee on Migration was doing to address the underlying causes and ensure that there is not a recurrence.  

"Our messages and measures taken to address foreign national attacks were warmly received by President Nyusi and his delegation and our warm relations will continue to thrive going into the future,” he said.

During his stay the President also paid a courtesy call on the Speaker of Assemble, Veronica Nataniel Macamo Dlhovo. The pair discussed the important role of the Pan-African Parliament and the importance of Parliament as the apex of democracy among others.

President Zuma was accompanied by the Minister of International Relations and Cooperation Maite Nkoana-Mashabane, Minister of Defence and Military Veterans Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula, Minister of Arts and Culture Nathi Mthethwa, Minister of Energy Tina Joemat-Pettersson and Minister of Environmental Affairs Edna Molewa. - SAnews.gov.za