African tone: Russia and Mozambique take relations to a new level

Russia is ready to provide assistance to Mozambique in the fight against terrorism. At the same time, Moscow and Maputo do not want to focus solely on military cooperation. The relations between the two countries have a solid foundation, laid back in the last century. This legacy allows us to develop dialogue and work on the implementation of major projects. Significant potential is contained in the energy sector, given the rich gas deposits in the country. Moscow offers partnership without exploitation of resources, continuing the tradition of supporting the independence of the republic. The main results of the visit of Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov to the Indian Ocean are described in the Izvestia article.

The locals' love for Russia

The third destination of Sergey Lavrov's African tour after Ethiopia and Niger was Mozambique, where the minister arrived on July 9. Maputo and Moscow have historically had strong ties, which is why the Russian minister came to this country in the southeast of the continent to strengthen the partnership rather than rebuild it. Vladimir Lenin Avenue (where the Russian Embassy is located) and Ho Chi Minh Avenue, as well as Karl Marx Street, clearly recall the socialist past of the state, which gained independence from Portugal in 1975.

Moscow's contribution to the struggle for it is illustrated by the Kalashnikov assault rifle on the country's national flag, which is displayed on government buildings. For Mozambicans, the Soviet AK-47 became the main symbol of liberation from colonial oppression.

The USSR's help is well remembered here — the Mozambican side drew attention to this during the negotiations on July 9. On this solid foundation, Maputo expresses its readiness to build relations in a new period, Sergey Lavrov stressed. When you say on the streets of the capital that you are from Russia, you are guaranteed to receive extremely positive emotions in response. However, it is difficult to assess how sincere these feelings are.

Behind a series of compliments that we are "better than the Chinese and Brazilians," there is often a banal attempt to get a couple of dollars. Someone is trying to sell local crafts, someone is ready to take a tour of the city. At the same time, refusing with the argument that the money was left in the hotel is a fatal mistake: after a few minutes at the entrance to the hotel you meet those same "lovers of Russia" again. At the same time, after visiting Niger, it becomes more difficult to understand the everyday difficulties of Maputo residents, because against the background of Niamey, the capital of Mozambique looks like an ideal place to live.

But the colonial era, of course, left a strong imprint here. On Independence Square, in the very center of the city, the snow-white Catholic cathedral stands just a few meters from the large-scale bronze statue of the country's first president, Samora Machela. This monument, erected in 2011 by North Korean craftsmen in the style of socialist realism, vividly illustrates the intertwining of different eras. Just a few steps away is the famous Iron House designed by Gustave Eiffel. The building, completely assembled from metal plates at the end of the 19th century, was supposed to serve as the governor's residence, but due to the stifling African heat, it turned out to be impossible to live in it. Although you don't feel all the severity of the African weather here in July, the fresh wind from the Indian Ocean after an early arrival surprised even the Russian delegation, who were used to the absence of prolonged sun. It's the height of the local winter in Maputo.

Close cooperation with the USSR and the colonial past in a certain sense influence the current policy of Mozambique, which tries not to join one or another geopolitical camp. The FRELIMO party, which won the country's independence, is in power to this day, but now it has moved away from the communist ideology. Today, the organization positions itself as a centrist, social democratic force, and the state's economy is completely reoriented to market tracks.

At the same time, the current leadership is pragmatic in foreign policy — in recent decades, the interests of many foreign investors have collided here: both traditional (including Portugal) and new (Brazil, the United Arab Emirates, South Korea), said Andrey Tokarev, senior researcher at the Institute of Africa of the Russian Academy of Sciences. China is also pouring a lot of money into infrastructure. But Russia also occupies its niche, despite the fact that the leadership of Mozambique has been and will continue to be pressured by unfriendly countries in order to force Maputo to curtail bilateral cooperation with Moscow. Nevertheless, President Daniel Chapo and the head of the African country's Foreign Ministry, Maria Lukas, with whom Sergey Lavrov held talks, demonstrate a balanced policy, the expert said.

The grievances of Mozambicans and the fears of foreigners

The defense track remains a clear confirmation of this pragmatism. Russia supplies Mozambique with weapons, and the republic sends its security forces to study in the Russian Federation. Sergey Lavrov also noted Moscow's readiness to support Maputo in opposing the militants in the north of the country.

The authorities are fighting radical Islamists from the Ansar al-Sunna group (a local ISIS cell, an organization banned in the Russian Federation) in the province of Cabo Delgado. This region is the main economic hope and at the same time the unresolved hotspot of East Africa. The involvement of Russian companies in energy projects is an urgent topic for bilateral relations. However, not only militants, but also Western sanctions can have a negative impact on this process, Andrei Tokarev noted.

Nevertheless, the advantage of cooperation with the Russian side may lie in Moscow's complete rejection of neocolonial practices. Russia is interested in equal cooperation, especially since the Africans themselves strive to ensure that their richest resources are not exported in their raw form, but processed locally. This is necessary in order for added value to be created directly in the countries where these natural resources are extracted. Moscow supports this approach.

Some of the world's largest natural gas deposits have been discovered on the local shelf in the Rovuma River basin, and Mozambique itself has the continent's largest portfolio of LNG projects totaling about $60 billion. In the future, the country may become one of the key exporters of this fuel. Nevertheless, the implementation of some projects with the participation of Western companies is now shifting due to the unstable situation in the region.

For example, in June, terrorists set up an ambush on the strategic highway N380, attacking a joint convoy of government troops and allied units of Rwanda. Against the background of the emerging crisis of EU funding for the Rwandan mission (due to the country's accusations of sponsoring the M23 group, which is rampaging in the DRC), predictable defense support from Moscow can play an important role. The Russian Federation does not condition its contribution to the country's defense on any political conditions, and this is highly appreciated in Mozambique, Andrei Tokarev said.

The situation in Mozambique is still far from the scale of the crisis in the Sahel countries, but the situation remains extremely acute. Since the beginning of the jihadist uprising in October 2017, more than 6.6 thousand people have died here, of which almost 3 thousand are civilians. Everything is calm in the capital, but guests from Europe seem to be subconsciously under a little stress even in Maputo, expecting theft, assault or deception. And the locals notice it.

"Don't be afraid of us, we're not thieves," one of the locals says with a slight touch of resentment.

On the other hand, it is difficult to get rid of this tension when you read the news about the increase in violence in the suburbs of the capital, where several high-profile murders have recently occurred. And when walking along the main street, you suddenly see an elderly man with a gun, which was hardly real or working, but this situation definitely does not add to the overall sense of security. In addition, even in order to simply cross the road, you have to wait for someone from the local community to slip through the chaotic metropolitan traffic with him.

— There are cases of theft in Maputo. But in general, you can safely walk along the embankment with your family," says one of the interlocutors, who has lived in the capital for several years.

Meanwhile, Mozambique also has natural enemies — cyclones, which periodically cause enormous damage to the country's economy. And 2026 was no exception. Russia has traditionally been among the States that have repeatedly provided humanitarian assistance to the Mozambican people. On March 19, our Ministry of Emergency Situations delivered to the republic a shipment of humanitarian aid with a total weight of 29 tons, including food, basic necessities, tents and blankets, Andrei Tokarev recalled.

In his opinion, Mozambique, like many other countries on the continent, has long overdue the need to create a national structure focused directly on emergency response. And here, Russia, which has unique experience and has created one of the most effective rescue services in the world, could well provide Maputo with expert assistance in organizing a similar department, he is sure.

At the same time, cooperation with Mozambique is not a one—way game. Access to the Indian Ocean is important for the Russian Navy. And a solid legal foundation for cooperation at sea was laid back in 2018, when Moscow and Maputo signed an agreement on a simplified procedure for Russian warships entering Mozambican ports. In addition, the infrastructure opens up new opportunities for domestic businesses: Russian exports, including, for example, grain, gain direct access to the entire macro-region of South Africa through Mozambique. The parties regularly discuss the participation of Russian holdings in the modernization of local railways and port terminals. Mozambique urgently needs to expand the capacity of the routes to smoothly transport liquefied natural gas, coal or rare earth metals from the depths of the continent to the ocean.