He made the revelation on Tuesday 25th January 2022, during the annual Article 8 Dialogue that took place at the headquarters of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation in Kimihurura.
The dialogue seeks to share information to promote mutual understanding and facilitate the establishment of agreed priorities and shared agendas.
The latest dialogue was held in February 2019. In 2020 and 2021, representatives from both countries did not meet physically due to COVID-19 related restrictions.
Rwanda started the deployment of 1000 troops of the Rwanda Defence Force (RDF) and the Rwanda National Police (RNP) to Mozambique on 9th July 2021, to fight rebel groups linked to the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL).
The group sometimes calls themselves al-Shabaab, although they do not have known links with the Somali al-Shabaab.
The situation started worsening in October 2017 when armed extremists linked ISIL launched an insurgency in the Cabo Delgado region of Mozambique.
Since then, Mozambique Defence Armed Forces have been battling the extremists while many civilians were displaced by the fighting.
The joint operations between Rwandan and Mozambican troops yielded big where different regions including Palma, Awasse, Mocímboa Da Praia, Quionga, Tete, Maputo, Nhica Do Rovuma, Quelimane, Chinda and Mumu were seized from rebels.
As at 5th September 2021, Rwandan and Mozambican troops who were joined by the military mission of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) had captured almost all areas of Cabo Delgado Province where the remaining work was predominantly about launching offensives to quell enemy pockets from their hideouts and help displaced citizens to return to their homes.
Rwanda initially sent 1000 troops to Cabo Delgado honoring the request of Mozambique to support efforts to quell terrorist groups.
The troops had increased to nearly 2000 by the end of the year 2021.
Cabo Delgado is rich in natural gas resources that lured French Firm, Total energies to bring an investment worth US$20 billion under a project dubbed ’Liquefied Natural Gas’.
The project was put to halt due to insecurity in the area.
The project’s resumption of operations in Mozambique will be good news not only for the company but also for French and EU as well.
Amb. Nicola Bellomo has said that such dialogue is a good platform to share ideas on areas of cooperation between Rwanda and EU including trade and investment, governance, unity and reconciliation among others.
He also reminisced on cooperation with EU and the African continent, integration efforts and foreign policy.
“In this context, I will refer to operations in Mozambique. I am confident this dialogue will provide additional elements to inform the ongoing discussion on possible EU support to Rwanda and to identify new avenues to promote and preserve peace and security on the continent,” he said.
Amb. Bellomo also commended Rwanda’s response to COVID-19 to save lives and mitigate the pandemic’s effect to national economy. He assured that the EU has also designed plans to support the health sector and social protection programs.
Amb. Bellomo welcomed Rwanda’s endorsed recommendations to respect human rights noting that EU and country members will continue discussions with Rwanda along the process to implement the recommendations endorsed during the Universal Periodic Review (UPR).
Rwanda’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Dr. Vincent Biruta said that, significant changes have taken place around the world since the last dialogue in 2019. He however highlighted that the collaboration between Rwanda and the EU remained strong, ‘especially with this pandemic and the need to work together to overcome it’.
He appreciated the support received from the EU since the beginning of the pandemic including vaccine donations and the strong contribution from the EU towards Rwanda’s efforts to produce vaccines locally.
Among others, Minister Biruta revealed that Rwanda is in the process to start implementing a new EU country strategy which is aligned with Rwanda’s Vision 2050 and the National Strategy for Transformation (NST1) NST1.
He said that the country looks forward to continue working closely with Team Europe on key priority areas including: education, skills and jobs for the youth; a green deal for inclusive development (with a focus on agriculture and urbanization), as well as political and economic governance, including support for private sector development.
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