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Context

• Secretary Department of Consumer Affairs stresses on expeditious clearance of tur export consignments awaiting at Mozambican ports
• The clearance to augment the availability of tur ensures availability and affordability to consumers in India.

About

• Mozambique is located on the southeast coast of Africa.
• It is bound by Eswatini to the south, South Africa to the southwest, Zimbabwe to the west, Zambia and Malawi to the northwest, Tanzania to the north and the Indian Ocean to the east.
• Mozambique lies between latitudes 10° and 27°S, and longitudes 30° and 41°E.
• The country is divided into two topographical regions by the Zambezi River.
• To the south of the Zambezi, the lowlands are broader with the Mashonaland plateau and Lebombo Mountains located in the deep south.
• The country has four notable lakes: Lake Niassa (or Malawi), Lake Chiuta, Cahora Bassa and Lake Shirwa, all in the north.

India – Mozambique Relations

Introduction

Political Relations

• After 1947, independent India’s support for the Mozambican freedom struggle established the basis for warm political ties between the leaderships of both countries.
• Diplomatic relations between India and Mozambique were established as soon as Mozambique became independent in 1975, and India was among the first countries to set up a diplomatic mission in Mozambique.
• Mozambique opened its Mission in New Delhi in 2001.
• Since the independence of Mozambique, there have been frequent contacts between the leaderships of both countries. All four Mozambican Presidents have visited India – President Samora Machel in April 1982, President Joaquim Chissano in May 1988 and again in May 2003, President Armando Guebuza September-October 2010, and President Filipe Nyusi in August 2015.
• From the Indian side, Prime Ministerial visits have taken place twice – Smt. Indira Gandhi in August 1982 and Shri Narendra Modi in July 2016.

India’s development partnership with Mozambique

• In recent years, India’s support for Mozambique’s development agenda has become an important priority within the bilateral relationship.
• Most of this assistance has been provided through concessional lines of credit (LOC) implemented through EXIM Bank of India.
• Until 2010, India had carried out LOC-funded projects worth about USD 140 million in Mozambique.
• During President Guebuza’s visit to India in 2010, further LOC support of USD 500 million was announced.
• Through these projects, India has extended support to Mozambique in diverse areas - provision of drinking water, improving power generation and distribution, improving agricultural productivity, rehabilitation of irrigation infrastructure, creation of an Information Technology park, construction of an assembly plant for solar cells, rehabilitation of road networks, construction of housing units, etc.
• Some recent examples of Indian development and humanitarian assistance to Mozambique includes the donation of USD 10 million to the Ministry of Trade & Industry in 2016 for the purchase of wheat for the drought-affected population, a donation of 100 tons of essential medicines for the Ministry of Health, and donation of transport vehicles for the Ministry of Interior.

Economic Relations

• In recent years, deepening economic interests have become the most important vector of India-Mozambique relations.
• Indian companies have invested heavily in the energy resources of Mozambique and by some estimates these investments amount to almost a quarter of India’s total FDI in Africa.
• The most important investments have been in the natural gas and coal industries.
• In 2014, two Indian Public Sector Companies, ONGC Videsh Ltd. and Oil India Ltd. completed the acquisition of a 20% stake in Area 1 of the huge Rovuma gas block of Mozambique, at a cost of over USD 5 billion.
• This was in addition to the 10% stake already held in the same block by another Indian PSU, Bharat Petro Resources Ltd.
• In the coal mining sector, in July 2014, International Coal Ventures Private Ltd, a consortium of five Indian PSUs (SAIL, NMDC, RISL, CIL, and NTPC) purchased a 65% stake in the coal assets sold by Rio Tinto.
• Other Indian companies with a presence in the coal mining sector include JSPL, JSW, Coal India Ltd, Tata Steel, Essar, Midwest Africa, Sunflag Group, etc.

Community and Cultural Relations

• Almost 20,000 Mozambican nationals trace their ancestry to India. Most of them are from the Indian states of Gujarat, Goa, Daman& Diu.
• This Indian-origin community is mostly engaged in wholesale and retail trade in Mozambique, where it has made a strong mark.
• The Indian community of Mozambique is well integrated into the local economy and society and is contributing to the creation of wealth and employment in Mozambique.
• At the same time, it has preserved its cultural roots in India.
• There are several community associations in the Indian community, which regularly organize charitable and cultural events.
• Recent highlights on the cultural front have been the organization of the International Day of Yoga since 2015.
• The Indian High Commission frequently invites cultural groups and artists from India to perform in Mozambique, to allow the Indian community to keep in touch with their cultural roots and also to introduce Indian culture to the wider Mozambican population.

PRACTICE QUESTION Analyze the current status of diplomatic and economic relations between India and Mozambique. Highlight key agreements and partnerships in trade, investment, and development cooperation. (250 words)