Tánaiste Simon Coveney welcomes signing of Mozambique Peace Agreement

The Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade, Simon Coveney, T.D., and Minister with Special Responsibility for Defence, Paul Kehoe, T.D., have welcomed the signing of a historic peace and reconciliation agreement in Maputo on Tuesday 6 August between the Government of Mozambique and opposition party RENAMO (Resistência Nacional Moçambicana).

Recognising the significance of this landmark peace agreement for Mozambique, the Tánaiste said:

‘’This historic agreement provides the people of Mozambique with the prospect of a more hopeful and prosperous future after many years of conflict.

‘’I extend my congratulations to both President Felipe Nyusi, and RENAMO President, Ossufo Momade, for their commitment to this process, and for the courage of all parties to the negotiations to set aside their differences in the pursuit of peace.’

“Ireland is proud to support Mozambique’s peace process through the contribution of professional expertise by the Defence Forces to the Joint Technical Group for Disarmament, Demobilisation and Reintegration.”

Minister Kehoe added:

“This is indeed a historic occasion and an important opportunity for Ireland to support the people of Mozambique. I would like to thank Colonel Hathaway, Ireland’s representative on the Joint Technical Group, for his participation and commitment to the process.

“Ireland’s substantial contribution to international peace support operations depends on the readiness of Defence Forces personnel to serve overseas in often difficult and dangerous circumstances. Colonel Hathaway should be very proud of his contribution to this process, serving the cause of international peace and security in the best traditions of our Defence Forces.”

ENDS

1. Mozambique’s civil war ended in 1992 with the signing of a General Peace Agreement in Rome by then President of Mozambique, Joaquim Chissano, and then leader of RENAMO, Afonso Dhlakama. However, violent clashes between Government forces and RENAMO occurred again in 2013.

2. The current round of negotiations towards a final peace agreement has been a nationally-led process, with support from the international community through a contact group chaired by Switzerland’s Ambassador to Mozambique and UN Special Envoy, H.E. Mirko Manzoni.

3. The peace agreement signed on 6 August 2019 was preceded by the signing of a cease fire agreement by President Filipe Nyusi and Renamo leader, Ossufo Momade, in Gorongosa National Park on Thursday 1 August 2019.

4. Ireland is providing ongoing support to Mozambique’s peace process. Through the Defence Forces, Ireland is providing key technical expertise to the Disarmament, Demobilisation and Reintegration (DDR) programme. Ireland also provides financial support to the Peace Process Secretariat.

5. Mozambique is an important partner for Ireland in the Southern Africa region, with over €21m contributed to Mozambique through Ireland’s bilateral development cooperation programme in 2018. This included financial support to the Peace Process Secretariat and to the Gorongosa Restoration Project, where the cease fire agreement was signed on 01 August 2019.