|
Lusa - Business News - Mozambique: Ukraine invites president, foreign minister to visit Kyiv

Maputo, May.26,2023(Lusa)- The Ukrainian foreign minister, Dmytro Kuleba, today invited Mozambique's President Filipe Nyusi and the minister of foreign affairs, Veronica Macamo, to visit Ukraine to strengthen relations between the two countries.
"We hope to receive both in Ukraine to further develop relations" between the two countries, the head of Ukrainian diplomacy said at a press conference in Maputo.
Dmytro Kuleba was speaking after separate meetings with Nyusi and Macamo, and the invitation was made during the meeting between the two committees, for now, without further details or reaction from the Mozambican side.
"We agreed to boost relations between Ukraine and Mozambique, including in the areas of trade, exchange of delegations, construction, cybersecurity and digitalisation," he detailed.
To this end, a business forum will be organised between the two countries, Kuleba added.
The head of Ukrainian diplomacy also announced that the country would open an embassy in Mozambique and that "agreements will be prepared to establish solid legal bases for bilateral relations".
Mozambique has been one of the countries that have remained neutral in the face of Russia's invasion of Ukraine and the war, considering itself in the best position to call for dialogue to end the conflict.
"Neutrality can take different forms, and today [at the meetings in Maputo] I felt a strong sympathy and support - which is not neutral, it is in favour of Ukraine - but I also received explanations as to why Mozambique is abstaining from the vote, expressing neutrality," Kuleba said in response to Lusa.
"Only neutrality does not give a better position to mediate" the conflict, Kuleba said, considering that the roles are very distinct: "There is an aggressor who attacks and a victim who defends himself."
Dmytro Kuleba arrived in Maputo today from Ethiopia after a stopover in Johannesburg.
He will hold other meetings in Mozambique during the rest of the day and will leave the country on Saturday to continue his African tour, which includes visits to Morocco and Rwanda.
The military offensive launched in February 2022 by Russia in Ukraine has so far caused the flight of more than 14.7 million people - 6.5 million internally displaced and more than 8.2 million to European countries - according to the latest figures from the UN, which ranks this refugee crisis as the worst in Europe since World War II (1939-1945).
The Russian invasion justified by Russian President Vladimir Putin with the need to "denazify" and demilitarise Ukraine for Russia's security has already killed 8,895 civilians and injured 15,117, also according to UN data, underlining that these figures are far below the real ones.
LFO/ADB // ADB.
Lusa
Agency : LUSA Date : 2023-05-27 03:39:00
|