FOREIGN
RELATIONS
While
allegiances dating back to the liberation struggle remain relevant,
Mozambique's foreign policy has become increasingly pragmatic.
The twin pillars of Mozambique's foreign policy are maintenance
of good relations with its neighbors and maintenance and expansion
of ties to development partners.
During
the 1970s and early 1980s, Mozambique's foreign policy was inextricably
linked to the struggles for majority rule in Rhodesia and South
Africa as well as superpower competition and the Cold War. Mozambique's
decision to enforce UN sanctions against Rhodesia and deny that
country access to the sea led Ian Smith's regime to undertake
overt and covert actions to destabilize the country. Although
the change of government in Zimbabwe in 1980 removed this threat,
the apartheid regime in South Africa continued to finance the
destabilization of Mozambique.
The 1984
Nkomati Accord, while failing in its goal of ending South African
support to RENAMO, opened initial diplomatic contacts between
the Mozambican and South African governments. This process gained
momentum with South Africa's elimination of apartheid, which culminated
in the establishment of full diplomatic relations in October 1993.
While relations with neighboring Zimbabwe, Malawi, Zambia, and
Tanzania show occasional strains, Mozambique's ties to these countries
remain strong.
In the
years immediately following its independence, Mozambique benefited
from considerable assistance from some western countries, notably
the Scandinavians. Moscow and its allies, however, became Mozambique's
primary economic, military, and political supporters and its foreign
policy reflected this linkage. This began to change in 1983; in
1984 Mozambique joined the World Bank and International Monetary
Fund. Western aid quickly replaced Soviet support, with the Scandinavians,
the United States, the Netherlands, and the European Union becoming
increasingly important sources of development assistance. Italy
also maintains a profile in Mozambique as a result of its key
role during the peace process. Relations with Portugal, the former
colonial power, are complex and of some importance as Portuguese
investors play a visible role in Mozambique's economy.
Mozambique
is a member of the Non-Aligned Movement and ranks among the moderate
members of the African Bloc in the United Nations and other international
organizations. Mozambique also belongs to the Organization of
African Unity/African Union and the Southern African Development
Community. In 1994, the Government became a full member of the
Organization of the Islamic Conference, in part to broaden its
base of international support but also to please the country's
sizeable Muslim population. Similarly, in early 1996 Mozambique
joined its Anglophone neighbors in the Commonwealth. In the same
year, Mozambique became a founding member and the first President
of the Community of Portuguese Language Countries (CPLP), and
maintains close ties with other Lusophone states.
U.S.-MOZAMBICAN
RELATIONS
Relations between the United States and Mozambique are good and steadily improving. By 1993, U.S. aid to Mozambique was prominent, due in part to significant emergency food assistance in the wake of the 1991-93 southern African drought, but more importantly in support of the peace and reconciliation process. During the process leading up to elections in October 1994, the United States served as a significant financier and member of the most important commissions established to monitor implementation of the Rome General Peace Accords. The United States is the largest bilateral donor to the country and plays a leading role in donor efforts to assist Mozambique.
The U.S. Embassy opened in Maputo on November 8, 1975, and the first American ambassador arrived in March 1976. In that same year, the United States extended a $10 million grant to the Government of Mozambique to help compensate for the economic costs of enforcing sanctions against Rhodesia. In 1977, however, largely motivated by a concern with human rights violations, the U.S. Congress prohibited the provision of development aid to Mozambique without a presidential certification that such aid would be in the foreign policy interests of the United States. Relations hit a nadir in March 1981, when the Government of Mozambique expelled four members of the U.S. Embassy staff. In response, the United States suspended plans to provide development aid and to name a new ambassador to Mozambique. Relations between the two countries languished in a climate of stagnation and mutual suspicion.
Contacts between the two countries continued in the early 1980s as part of the U.S. administration's conflict resolution efforts in the region. In late 1983, a new U.S. ambassador arrived in Maputo, and the first Mozambican envoy to the United States arrived in Washington, signaling a thaw in the bilateral relationship. The United States subsequently responded to Mozambique's economic reform and drift away from Moscow's embrace by initiating an aid program in 1984. President Samora Machel paid a symbolically important official working visit to the United States in 1985, where he met President Reagan. After that meeting, a full U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) mission was established, and significant assistance for economic reform efforts began. President Chissano met with President Bush in September 2003; previously, he had met with Presidents Reagan (October 1987), Bush (March 1990), and Clinton (November 1998), and also with Secretaries of State Powell (February 2002) and Baker (July 1992). Since taking office in February 2005, President Guebuza has visited the United States on five occasions. In June 2005, President Guebuza visited Washington, DC to take part in President Bush's mini-summit on Africa, along with the leaders of Ghana, Namibia, Botswana, and Niger. Later that month, he attended the Corporate Council on Africa (CCA) Business Summit in Baltimore. President Guebuza returned in September 2005 for the UN General Assembly in New York and in December 2005 attended the Fourth Development Cooperation Forum at the Carter Center in Atlanta. In 2006 he visited New York for the UN General Assembly, and in 2007 he visited Washington, DC for the signing of Mozambique's Millennium Challenge Corporation compact.
Principal U.S. Embassy Officials
Ambassador--vacant
Chargé d’Affaires, a.i.--Todd Chapman
USAID Mission Director--Todd Amani
Public Affairs Officer--Kristin Kane
Defense Attaché--Lt. Col. John Roddy
Peace Corps Director--David Bellama
Centers for Disease Control Director--Lisa Nelson
Management Officer--Jeremey Neitzke
Regional Security Officer--Steve Jones
Economic/Political Chief--Matt Roth
Consular Officer--Jeffrey Lodermeier
The U.S. Embassy is located at 193 Avenida Kenneth Kaunda; P.O. Box 783; tel: (258-21) 49-27-97, after hours (258-21) 49-07-23; fax: (258-21) 49-01-14. USAID Mission: Av. 25 de Setembro (Predio JAT); tel: (258-21) 352-000, after hours (258-21) 49-16-77; fax: (258-21) 352-100. The Public Affairs Office/Martin Luther King Library: 542 Avenida Mao Tse Tung; tel: (258-21) 49-19-16; fax: (258-21) 49-19-18.
