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Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida pledged his support to help Mozambique to counter the jihadist insurgency in the north of the country. Mozambique’s northernmost gas-rich province of Cabo Delgado is battling an insurgency led by militants linked to the Islamic State group
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida pledged his support to help Mozambique to counter the jihadist insurgency in the north of the country. Mozambique’s northernmost gas-rich province of Cabo Delgado is battling an insurgency led by militants linked to the Islamic State group.
The Japanese Prime Minister said that his country would help financially in the fight against terrorism, mentioning that security was paramount for the operations of Japanese companies. There are an increasing number of Japanese companies operating in Mozambique, particularly in the mining sector in the northern provinces.
Mozambique has placed high hopes on vast natural gas deposits. It was discovered in 2010 in the south of the Sahara and is present in large quantities. They are mostly in the Muslim-majority northern province. in 2010. If all the fields are exploited, Mozambique could become one of the world’s top ten gas exporting countries, according to estimates.
But the insurgency is a major question mark, which has killed more than 4,600 people. Japanese conglomerate Mitsui has a 20 percent stake in a US$20 billion (€18 billion) gas project led by French giant TotalEnergies. Work on the project has been suspended since 2021 following a jihadist attack on the nearby coastal town of Palma.
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Last week, Mozambique’s president, Filipe Nyusi, said conditions were right for the resumption of work. But TotalEnergies has not yet committed to restarting the project. In the meantime, Mozambique’s foreign minister, Veronica Macamo, said that Japan would provide the African nation with air navigation equipment worth about $22.5 million (€20.4 million) and a surveillance vessel worth US$830,000 (€750,000). Japan is the world’s largest importer of liquefied natural gas (LNG), a title it normally shares with China. Fumio Kishida said Tokyo intends to deepen its relations with Maputo, especially in the energy sector.
