KIGALI: Rwandan President Paul Kagame on Thursday evening bid farewell to Mozambican President Daniel Francisco Chapo at the end of a two-day working visit that produced agreements deepening security and economic cooperation between the two countries.
The two leaders signed a Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) regulating the presence of Rwandan troops in Mozambique, where Kigali has played a key role in helping Maputo battle an Islamist insurgency in its northern Cabo Delgado province since 2021.
A separate memorandum of understanding was signed between the Rwanda Development Board and Mozambique’s Investment and Export Promotion Agency to expand bilateral trade and investment links.
“In Kigali, we held productive bilateral talks with President Kagame which confirmed the excellent moment of Mozambique–Rwanda cooperation,” Chapo said, adding that the SOFA provided a formal framework for Rwandan forces deployed to support counter-terrorism operations.
Rwanda first sent more than 1,000 soldiers and police to Mozambique in mid-2021 after insurgents linked to Islamic State seized the strategic town of Palma, threatening a multi-billion-dollar liquefied natural gas project led by French energy company TotalEnergies.
Since then, Rwandan forces, alongside Mozambican troops and later contingents from the Southern African Development Community, have helped push the militants out of key areas.
For Kagame, the agreements underline Rwanda’s growing reputation as a regional security provider, with Kigali also maintaining troop deployments in the Central African Republic under bilateral arrangements.
“The visit reaffirmed the shared commitment to further strengthen the existing fruitful bilateral collaboration for the benefit of the people of Rwanda and Mozambique,” the Rwandan presidency said in a statement.
Mozambique, which has sought to stabilise Cabo Delgado to unlock stalled energy investments, has described Rwanda’s role as decisive in restoring order in areas once under rebel control.
The new investment pact is aimed at broadening the relationship beyond security, with both governments keen to stimulate trade and private-sector partnerships.
Chapo, a former provincial governor who became Mozambique’s president earlier this year, was making his first official visit to Rwanda since assuming office.
