World
Russia Readies to Boost Cooperation with Mozambique
By Kester Kenn Klomegah
President Vladimir Putin has held an extended meeting with the visiting Mozambican leader Filipe Nyusi in the Kremlin where both discussed bilateral cooperation between the two countries. The leaders further discussed issues related to the current international and regional issues.
The visit, first for Mozambican leader after the collapse of the Soviet empire, was part of the consolidation and deepening of the existing relations of friendship and cooperation between Mozambique and Russia. Mozambique is a natural, time-tested and long-standing partner, the Soviet Union played an important role in Mozambique.
Diplomatic relations between the two countries were established on June 25, 1975, on the day Mozambique declared its independence. The Treaty of Friendship and Cooperation between the Soviet Union and the People’s Republic of Mozambique was signed in 1977.
“On the commercial and economic side our relations are still modest,” Putin said after signing the accords. “But we have good prospects.” Putin noted in his talks that there are issues related to the situation in the region, where a number of acute problems are being addressed by various countries.
Following the talks, Putin and Nyusi witnessed the exchange of documents signed during the official visit of the President of Mozambique to Russia. Russian companies, among them are Rosneft, UAZ, GAZ, Kamaz, Inter Rao – Export and Gazprombank, have an active interest in cooperation with Mozambican partners.
Mozambique has been looking to develop natural gas reserves that could make the African state a major exporter of liquified natural gas. As far back in 2015, the Russian oil and gas company Rosneft and US energy giant ExxonMobil received licenses for the development of three gas-rich deepwater blocks off the coast of Mozambique. The state-owned Qatar Petroleum company and Italy’s Eni oil and gas company later joined the project.
In October 2018, these companies signed concession contracts for hydrocarbon exploration and production with the government of Mozambique. Rosneft’s share in the projects is 20 percent. In July 2019, a mining and processing complex was launched in the city of Pebane, a province of Zambezia, for the exploitation, Primary treatment, and export of titanium and zirconium products from Tazetta Resources, which is part of the East Minerals international holding, controlled by a number of Russian investors.
Reports said that Mozambique’s National Hydrocarbon Company (ENH) was looking for more than US$2 billion to meet its project commitments. During the Moscow visit, Filipe Nyusi also held discussions, with representatives of Russian bank Gazprombank, which was dedicated to financing oil and gas sector projects in Mozambique.
“We have natural resources and we expect Russian investments to use those resources for the good of the people,” Nyusi said in an interview with local Russian news agency, published on the eve of his meeting with Putin.
There has been an increasing interest of the Russian business community in building a partnership with Mozambique, which matches Maputo’s intention to attract Russian investment and technical assistance.
Russia and Mozambique have re-affirmed commitment to promoting trade and economic cooperation, and believed that joint efforts in geological exploration and mineral extraction as well as telecommunications, energy and agriculture could possibly be the main priorities in the renewed bilateral relationship.
On August 21, the Russian-Mozambique Business Forum was held at the World Trade Center as part of the working visit of the President Nyusi and his delegation to Moscow.
The forum, aimed at reviewing and identifying potential spheres for strengthening bilateral economic cooperation between Russia and Mozambique, was organized jointly by the Embassy of Mozambique and the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Russian Federation with the support of the Moscow International Trade Center.
Vice President of the Russian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Vladimir Padalko, noted that the African continent as a whole and Mozambique, in particular, are gaining increasing importance in the system of foreign economic relations of and are strategic interest to the Russian Federation.
The two countries currently maintain trade and economic relations. The Russian-Mozambique intergovernmental commission on trade and economic cooperation was established in March 2018. Its first meeting was held in Maputo in April 2018. The volume of trade between Russia and Mozambique in 2018 amounted to US$115 million. In the first half of 2019, trade increased by 32 percent compared to the same period in 2018.
The speech of the leader was, indeed, reassuring and offered hope. Mozambique’s economy is alive and well, judging by the volume of investments currently flowing in various sectors from many foreign sources, according to Filipe Nyusi, and added he would do his best to pursue the best strategies to improve the business environment in Mozambique, with the help of the business sector of the Russian Federation.
As a unique strategy, Moscow seems to prioritize and focus primarily on the southern African region. Mozambican leader’s visit followed that of South Africa, Zimbabwe, Angola and the Congo to meet President Vladimir Putin in the Kremlin since that beginning of 2019.
In October 2018, for instance, Southern African Development Community (SADC) and the Russian Federation signed a new Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) at an investment forum that aimed at creating a unified regional platform to share with potential Russian businesses, information on investment opportunities and the investment climate in the SADC Region.
The MoU envisages strengthening ties in a broad range of fields and shows that SADC remains as one of Russia’s key partners in Africa. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Executive Secretary of the Southern African Development Community (SADC), Stergomena Lawrence Tax, signed for the Russian Federation and SADC, respectively.
On her part, the SADC Executive Secretary noted that “Russia and Africa have been partners for many years, and expressed a desire to achieve a new level in their relations.” She said it was encouraging that, in recent times, Russia had been repositioning itself to be a major partner with Southern Africa.
In an interview with the Hommes d’Afrique magazine, Minister Lavrov stressed: “At present, Russia’s relations with African countries are progressing both on a bilateral basis and along the line of African regional organizations, primarily the African Union and the Southern African Development Community.” Mozambique, among 16 southern African countries, is a member of the SADC. Russia has a long history of bilateral engagements with the Southern African countries, which constitute the Southern African Development Community.
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
For transforming cross-border payments through its deployment with Global Money Exchange, Comviva has been named Best In-Class Cross Border Payments.
The global leader in digital transformation solutions clinched this latest accolade at the IBS Intelligence Global FinTech Innovation Award 2025.
The recognition highlights how Comviva’s mobiquity Pay is helping shape a modern cross-border payment ecosystem that stretches far beyond conventional remittance services.
Deployed as a white label Wallet Platform and launched as Global Pay Oman App, it fulfils GMEC’s dual vision—positioning itself as an innovative payment service provider while digitally extending its core money transfer business.
The solution allows GMEC to offer international money transfers alongside seamless forex ordering and other services. These capabilities sit alongside a broad suite of everyday financial services, including bill and utility payments, merchant transactions, education-related payments, and other digital conveniences — all delivered through one unified experience.
“This award is a testament to Oman’s accelerating digital transformation and our commitment to reshaping how cross-border payments serve people and businesses across the Sultanate.
“By partnering with Comviva and bringing the Global Pay Oman Super App, we have moved beyond traditional remittance services to create a truly inclusive and future-ready financial ecosystem.
“This innovation is not only enhancing convenience and transparency for our customers but is also supporting Oman’s broader vision of building a digitally empowered economy,” the Managing Director at Global Money Exchange, Subromoniyan K.S, said.
Also commenting, the chief executive of Comviva, Mr Rajesh Chandiramani, said, “Cross-border payments are becoming a daily necessity, not a niche service, particularly for migrant and trade-linked economies.
“This recognition from IBS Intelligence validates our focus on building payment platforms that combine global reach with local relevance, operational resilience and a strong user experience. The deployment with Global Money Exchange Co. demonstrates how mobiquity® Pay enables financial institutions to move beyond remittances and deliver integrated digital services at scale.”
“The deployment of mobiquity Pay for GMEC showcases how scalable, API-driven digital wallet platforms can transform cross-border payments into seamless, value-rich experiences.
“By integrating remittances, bill payments, forex services, and AI-powered engagement into a unified Super App, Comviva has reimagined customer journeys and operational agility.
“This Best-in-Class Cross-border Payments award win stands as a testament to Comviva’s excellence in enabling financial institutions to compete and grow in a digitally convergent world,” the Director for Research and Digital Properties at IBS Intelligence, Nikhil Gokhale, said.
By Kestér Kenn Klomegâh
At the end of an extensive consultation with African foreign ministers, Russian Foreign Minister, Sergey Lavrov, has emphasized that Moscow would advance its economic engagement across Africa, admittedly outlining obstacles delaying the prompt implementation of several initiatives set forth in Strategic Action Plan (2023-2026) approved in St. Petersburg during the Russia-Africa Summit.
The second Ministerial Conference, by the Russian Foreign Ministry with support from Roscongress Foundation and the Arab Republic of Egypt, marked an important milestone towards raising bilateral investment and economic cooperation.
In Cairo, the capital city of the Arab Republic of Egypt, Lavrov read out the final resolution script, in a full-packed conference hall, and voiced strong confidence that Moscow would achieve its strategic economic goals with Africa, with support from the African Union (AU) and other Regional Economic blocs in the subsequent years. Despite the complexities posed by the Russia-Ukraine crisis, combined with geopolitical conditions inside the African continent, Moscow however reiterated its position to take serious steps in finding pragmatic prospects for mutual cooperation and improve multifaceted relations with Africa, distinctively in the different sectors: in trade, economic and investment spheres, education and culture, humanitarian and other promising areas.
The main event was the plenary session co-chaired by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Egyptian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Emigration, and Egyptians Abroad Bashar Abdelathi. Welcome messages from Russian President Vladimir Putin and Egyptian President Abdelhak Sisi were read.
And broadly, the meeting participants compared notes on the most pressing issues on the international and Russian-African agendas, with a focus on the full implementation of the Russia-Africa Partnership Forum Action Plan for 2023-2026, approved at the second Russia-Africa Summit in St. Petersburg in 2023.
In addition, on the sidelines of the conference, Lavrov held talks with his African counterparts, and a number of bilateral documents were signed. A thematic event was held with the participation of Russian and African relevant agencies and organizations, aimed at unlocking the potential of trilateral Russia-Egypt-Africa cooperation in trade, economic, and educational spheres.
With changing times, Africa is rapidly becoming one of the key centers of a multipolar world order. It is experiencing a second awakening. Following their long-ago political independence, African countries are increasingly insisting on respect for their sovereignty and their right to independently manage their resources and destiny. Based on these conditions, it was concluded that Moscow begins an effective and comprehensive work on preparing a new three-year Cooperation and Joint Action Plan between Russia and Africa.
Moreover, these important areas of joint practical work are already detailed in the Joint Statement, which was unanimously approved and will serve as an important guideline for future work. According to reports, the Joint Statement reflects the progress of discussions on international and regional issues, as well as matters of global significance.
Following the conference, the Joint Statement adopted reflects shared approaches to addressing challenges and a mutual commitment to strengthening multifaceted cooperation with a view to ensuring high-quality preparation for the third Russia-Africa Summit in 2026.
On December 19-20, the Second Ministerial Conference of the Russia-Africa Partnership Forum was held in Cairo, Egypt. It was held for the first time on the African continent, attended by heads and representatives of the foreign policy ministries of 52 African states and the executive bodies of eight regional integration associations.
By Adedapo Adesanya
Social media platform, TikTok’s Chinese owner ByteDance has signed binding agreements with United States and global investors to operate its business in America.
Half of the joint venture will be owned by a group of investors, including Oracle, Silver Lake and the Emirati investment firm MGX, according to a memo sent by chief executive, Mr Shou Zi Chew.
The deal, which is set to close on January 22, 2026 would end years of efforts by the US government to force ByteDance to sell its US operations over national security concerns.
It is in line with a deal unveiled in September, when US President Donald Trump delayed the enforcement of a law that would ban the app unless it was sold.
In the memo, TikTok said the deal will enable “over 170 million Americans to continue discovering a world of endless possibilities as part of a vital global community”.
Under the agreement, ByteDance will retain 19.9 per cent of the business, while Oracle, Silver Lake and Abu Dhabi-based MGX will hold 15 per cent each.
Another 30.1 per cent will be held by affiliates of existing ByteDance investors, according to the memo.
The White House previously said that Oracle, which was co-founded by President Trump’s supporter Larry Ellison, will license TikTok’s recommendation algorithm as part of the deal.
The deal comes after a series of delays.
Business Post reported in April 2024 that the administration of President Joe Biden passed a law to ban the app over national security concerns, unless it was sold.
The law was set to go into effect on January 20, 2025 but was pushed back multiple times by President Trump, while his administration worked out a deal to transfer ownership.
President Trump said in September that he had spoken on the phone to China’s President Xi Jinping, who he said had given the deal the go ahead.
The platform’s future remained unclear after the leaders met face to face in October.
The app’s fate was clouded by ongoing tensions between the two nations on trade and other matters.
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