The ministers of Home Affairs of Mozambique and International Relations and Cooperation of South Africa have decided to keep the border open and to reinforce the security of the infrastructures that guarantee the flow of trade between the two countries, which is being affected by the protests that have been taking place in Mozambican cities since October 21..

At the meeting held in Malelane, in the South African province of Mpumalanga, on Wednesday (18), Pascoal Ronda and Ronald Lamola acknowledged that many companies have suffered huge losses and that there is an urgent need to ensure that the protests do not affect trade.

"The meeting stressed that these disruptions have had a significant negative impact on the economies of both countries and on the free movement of people and goods between the two countries," said the Mozambican minister, who acknowledged that "many companies have suffered losses as a result of the interruption in trade and that "if the situation persists there is a great risk of food and energy insecurity".

According to a Voice of America (VOA)For his part, the head of South African diplomacy revealed that the two delegations "agreed that both countries will strive to protect and secure infrastructure for trade facilitation and continued collaboration aimed at ensuring minimal disruption to regional integration, including associated cross-border value chains".

According to the same publication, the two governments initially decided that they would jointly mitigate the disruption at the entry points, particularly Libombo and Ressano Garcia. Pascoal Ronda revealed that the post-election crisis was appreciated at the meeting because it also "affects South Africa economically".

"We've talked about it, we've explained it, we've clarified it, and right now we're waiting for the Constitutional Council to make its final judgment based on the available data so that it can communicate to all Mozambicans, to the region and to the world, what the historical-political place of each of the candidates and each of the political parties is, in the next few days we'll be attentive to hear this result," said the Mozambican interior minister.

(Photo DR)