The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation is responsible for facilitating and coordinating Mozambique’s international relations. The country’s foreign policy draws from two primary principles: good relations with its neighbours and the maintenance and expansion of ties with development partners. Mozambique has good bilateral relations, maintained through embassies in many countries. In 2008, for instance, Finland’s bilateral project and programme-specific aid to Mozambique totalled around €23 million. The relationship with the UK is expressed through the Department for International Development (DFID), which contributed an annual budget of about US$100 million, making it one of the largest donors to offer support to Mozambique (2006). Mozambique joined the Commonwealth in 1996 and is a member of the Non-Aligned Movement, the United Nations, the Organization of African Unity and the Southern African Development Community.
Bilateral co-operation exists between Mozambique and many countries around the world. Around 37 foreign embassies and consulates are located in the capital, Maputo. The Finnish Government has committed itself to assist with development efforts in the country and since 1984 Finland’s development co-operation with Mozambique has meant that about €314 million has been invested in the country through aid that primarily supports education, agriculture and the health sector (2008). Norway, through the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation, and countries such as the US and the UK through their respective bodies, offer continual support towards poverty reduction and related issues.
Mozambique has embassies, high commissions and consulates in about 28 countries around the world. As a member of the United Nations, Mozambique works towards international economic development, security and peace and maintains a permanent mission in New York, USA, and Geneva, Switzerland. To strengthen Mozambique’s commitment to promoting African unity, and its support of regional economic integration, the country maintains embassies in several African countries, including neighbouring South Africa, Tanzania, Egypt and Kenya. Embassies and other foreign missions can be contacted for information on consular matters of prospective investors and travellers; a good example of such is the High Commission of The Republic of Mozambique to the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, which is based in London, with a well maintained website that serves this purpose.
