Africa-Press – Mozambique. The Japanese Ambassador to Mozambique, Hamada Keiji, has pledged that the Japanese government will continue to provide support to the victims of Islamist terrorism in the northern Mozambican province of Cabo Delgado.
According to Keiji, who was speaking to reporters on Tuesday after an audience granted by Margarida Talapa, chairperson of the Mozambican parliament, the Assembly of the Republic, the Japanese government will continue supporting the displaced people who are victims of terrorism.
He added that assistance will also be provided to the Mozambican Defence and Security Forces (FDS).
“I spoke to the Chairperson of the Assembly about our cooperation activities in Cabo Delgado province, because we have two pillars: the first is humanitarian assistance, through the United Nations agencies, and the second is cooperation for stability in that province, through the (Mozambican) Ministry of the Interior”, he said.
According to the diplomat, Japan is interested in stopping terrorism in Cabo Delgado, therefore it has been following the efforts the Mozambican government has been making to maintain stability and security.
“We also want this stability because it’s not just for the Mozambican people who live in this province, but also for the liquefied natural gas extraction project, because there is a Japanese company that belongs to a consortium led by the French company TotalEnergies,” he said.
“The Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) project in Area 1 of the Rovuma basin in Cabo Delgado, estimated at more than 20 billion dollars, is not just for Mozambicans, but also for the Japanese people”, he added.
The project headed by the French multinational company Total Energies was forced to halt operations in 2021 following a major terrorist attack against Palma town.
“So, in this case, I hope that the force majeure will be lifted, as soon as possible,” said the ambassador.
“We also talked about the future exchange between the Mozambican and Japanese parliaments”, Keiji added. “This means that we may form a parliamentary friendship group. We have many parliamentarians who are interested in visiting Mozambique”.
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