Mozambique opens maritime security centre with UNODC support

The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) has invested around 35 million meticais (€463,800) in Mozambique in the construction of a joint operations centre to strengthen national maritime security. The facility was inaugurated on Friday. “With this equipment, [the maritime security situation] could change significantly, because it is from here that we will have real-time information on what is happening in our maritime space, and from there we can intervene,” announced Adolfo Albino, Chairperson of the Board of the Mozambican National Institute of the Sea (INAMAR), during the inauguration of the infrastructure, the first of its kind at national level.

Installed in Maputo, the construction of the Joint Operations Coordination Centre (NJOC), described as a “coordination platform for monitoring” the Mozambican coastline, was financed by the specialised United Nations agency. According to Adolfo Albino, for the operationalisation of the centre — which also received support from the United States and the World Bank — 20 officers have been trained to “gather information and distribute it to the institutions that have responsibility”. Mozambique’s Minister of Agriculture, Roberto Albino, noted on the occasion that the centre represents an important milestone in strengthening ocean governance and results from a solid “strategic partnership” between Mozambique, the United States of America, UNODC and the World Bank.

He described it as a clear expression of mutual trust and cooperation focused on concrete results. Photo: Ministério da Agricultura, Ambiente e Pescas “The National Joint Operations Centre constitutes a strategic platform for intersectoral coordination, enabling enhanced information and intelligence sharing, reduced bureaucracy, strengthened rapid response capacity and increased effectiveness in combating drug, arms and human trafficking, piracy and illegal fishing, thereby protecting the blue economy and the country’s critical infrastructure,” Albino said. For the minister, national waters must not, “under any circumstances”, be used as corridors for illicit practices, nor as sources of unlawful enrichment.

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The centre therefore reinforces national security. He further stressed that the infrastructure will help protect the strategic assets of the blue economy, ensure a rapid and effective response to threats at sea, and consolidate Mozambique’s image in regional and international maritime security. For his part, the head of the UNODC office in Mozambique, Antonio De Vivo, said the NJOC represents a significant milestone in collective efforts to strengthen maritime security and the rule of law in Mozambique and across the Western Indian Ocean region.

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