The Portuguese secretary of state for foreign affairs and cooperation, Ana Isabel Xavier, expressed Portugal’s solidarity with Mozambique on Wednesday in Maputo, in light of the floods that have already affected 700,000 people, and its commitment to provide support. “The first message I conveyed was one of solidarity with the disaster situation in Mozambique, especially in the provinces of Maputo and Gaza, due to the floods of recent weeks,” Ana Isabel Xavier told journalists after a meeting with the Mozambican Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, Maria Lucas, in Maputo. She highlighted Portugal’s willingness to continue helping Mozambique, recalling the arrival, in the coming hours, of aid sent by the Portuguese government, announced on Tuesday.
“Portugal was the first country to send an advance mission to assess the situation, arriving on 22 January, but I conveyed (…) Portugal’s full support and commitment to helping the country and the Mozambican people,” the secretary of state added. Ana Xavier said that the meeting with Mozambique’s head of diplomacy also served to strengthen the “very positive” bilateral relationship and to follow up on the mechanisms for implementing the 22 agreements signed, “in a historic manner,” at the bilateral summit held on 9 December in Porto. The meeting also discussed the revision of the Strategic Cooperation Programme, which will be in force between 2027 and 2031, said the secretary of state, who announced the deployment, later this year, of a technical mission from the Camões Institute to Mozambique to begin the first steps in diagnosing and evaluating the Strategic Cooperation Programme still in force and “prepare the next one.” The Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, Maria Lucas, assured that the approximately 22 agreements signed in Portugal are in the process of being ratified by the Mozambican government, expressing gratitude for the country’s support in the face of the flood situation.
“We would like to thank Portugal for its support, an extraordinary and timely gesture. The response was very timely and (…), already a significant amount, which was approved by the Portuguese government, but also for this flight that is arriving,” praised the Mozambican minister. Lusa reported on Monday that the aid Portugal will send to Mozambique to support the flood-affected victims includes a contingent of 36 military personnel, which may be increased to a maximum of 100 members of the Immediate Reaction Force (FRI), with various skills, experts, equipment and €300,000, according to the Portuguese prime minister’s office.
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A further €300,000 will follow through Camões – Institute for Cooperation and Language, a sum already announced that will support the humanitarian response, within the framework of coordination by the United Nations/OCHA. Two experts from the National Civil Engineering Laboratory (LNEC) in the areas of dams, infrastructure and flood management, who will be part of the United Nations Disaster Assessment and Coordination (UNDAC) team, with 400 hygiene kits, 125 kitchen kits and 15 tents, are also part of this Portuguese support, which includes a national expert in the area of health.
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