Maputo: A diplomatic front line

Good afternoon. We recently noted the increased number of international VIP visitors to Maputo. One dynamic not mentioned in that piece was Mozambique’s non-permanent membership of the UN Security Council.

That is probably one reason at least why the foreign minister of Ukraine stopped by last week — quickly followed by the foreign minister of Russia, today, on his way to South Africa for a meeting of BRICS foreign ministers (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa).

From the Zitamar Live Blog:

Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov met with President Nyusi at his office this morning, following a meeting with minister of public works Carlos Mesquita at the foreign ministry in Maputo

The Bank of Mozambique's monetary policy committee decided to maintain its policy interest rate steady at 17.25% at its meeting today. But it increased the minimum reserves banks need to retain, from 28% to 39% of metical deposits, and from 28.5% to 39.5% for foreign currency deposits

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Sergei Lavrov did not meet the Mozambican foreign minister; Veronica Macamo is in Nigeria, where she (like Ukrainian foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba) was attending the inauguration of President Bola Tinubu. Instead, Lavrov was received by public works minister Carlos Mesquita, before making a stop at the Presidency.