Ties

This street name in Maputo jumped out at me given that my base location is Dar es Salaam. It may be named purely to promote cordial relations with a neighbouring country but it’s more likely to be a deeper nod to the shared history of Tanzania and Mozambique. Julius Nyerere, the first President of independent Tanzania, got behind the formation of FRELIMO, the group that fought the Portuguese for Mozambican independence, and he gave land for Mozambicans to form military training camps. Some prominent Mozambican freedom fighters were assassinated in Tanzania during this period.

The positive bilateral relationship is helpful for my work, which involves facilitating frequent government to government discussions. None of us have to deal with an undercurrent of mistrust which characterises the relationship between many other neighbours, and for this we can all be very grateful.