Mozambique invites local entrepreneurs to leverage India’s defence industry expertise

Mozambique aims to strengthen cooperation with India in the defence sector, said the permanent secretary of the Mozambican Ministry of Defence, inviting local businesspeople to leverage Indian expertise in this area. “India is a major actor with developed technology and a consolidated defence industry, and we hope our business community will draw on Indian experience to generate interest in defence matters,” said Casimiro Mueio, permanent secretary of Mozambique’s Ministry of National Defence (MDN), at the opening of the India-Mozambique Defence Industry Seminar in Maputo. The Mozambican official also expressed interest in reinforcing bilateral defence cooperation with India, noting that the country faces challenges of various kinds, including natural disasters, transnational crime, terrorism, and illegal immigration, “which requires the defence and security forces [FDS] to have the human and technological capacity to address them.” “We also believe that this event will serve as an opportunity to strengthen business partnerships with both the public and private sectors, in a collective effort to achieve national security, recognising that national defence is the responsibility of all of us,” Mueio explained.

Photo: India in Mozambique (High Commission of India, Maputo) The Indian diplomat also expressed interest in continuing to support Mozambique in strengthening its defence and security forces through technical training and provision of equipment. Mozambican authorities further stated that the seminar between the two countries aims to showcase defence products, identify necessary mechanisms and partnerships to respond to “real and potential threats to security,” and that agreements on defence industry partnerships and improvements to the business environment are planned. Mozambique and India maintain bilateral defence cooperation, with partnerships in priority areas such as maritime security, counter-terrorism, and technical training, the Mozambican permanent secretary of defence added.