Belén Calvo Uyarra, the European Union ambassador to Rwanda, has hailed the country’s military operations in northern Mozambique as a “positive” solution to security threats in Africa. ALSO READ: Rwanda welcomes €20m EU support towards Mozambique operations Uyarra, who has served as EU ambassador since September, made the observation on December 13, speaking to journalists, after paying a courtesy call to Prime Minister Edouard Ngirente. Earlier this month, the EU Commission approved €20 million (approx. Rwf22 trillion) in assistance for the deployment of Rwandan troops in Mozambique’s northernmost province of Cabo Delgado. Until Rwanda’s deployment to Cabo Delgado in July 2021, the coastal region with natural gas reserves had been the affected by Islamic State-linked terrorist attacks since 2017. “The European Union is engaging Rwanda in addressing an international security threat,” Uyarra said. “Rwanda’s intervention in Cabo Delgado has been positive and the European Union is also committed to supporting African solutions to African problems. Rwanda has come with strong action, and the EU has indeed supported it with €20 million.” As of November 30, there were about 2,500 Rwandan military and police officers in the province, where the initial operation has been a success. Maputo and Kigali have agreed to continue joint operations in order to pacify other areas, where the terrorists have fled to. ALSO READ: Mozambique starts shipping gas to Europe Until Rwanda’s intervention in Cabo Delgado, the terrorists had killed over 4,000 civilians and displaced tens of thousands more. French oil giant Total and Italian energy firm Eni have operations in Cabo Delgado. “It’s an area where we have joint interests and I do believe we can certainly work together,” Uyarra said. The EU’s assistance to the Mozambican army totals €89 million.
