Mozambique and Zambia have today undertaken to strengthen information sharing and operational coordination between their respective defence and security forces to combat transnational crime and the terrorist threat.
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11/09/2026
by
Lusa
“ A fourteenth session of the Permanent Joint Commission on Defense and Security Mozambique-Zambia is a sovereign opportunity for dialogue and interaction between our two countries,” said the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of National Defense of Mozambique, Casimiro Augusto Mueio, at the end of the 14th Session of the Permanent Joint Committee on Defense and Security (CCPDS).
The meeting, which took place between September 9 and 11, in the Mozambican capital, under the direction of permanent secretaries of the Ministry of Defense of Mozambique and Zambia, identified as major threats to common security illegal migration, smuggling of goods, poaching and trafficking in drugs and human beings, phenomena that continue to affect the border region between the two countries.
The terrorist threat in some districts of the province of Cabo Delgado, in northern Mozambique, rich and gas, and affected since 2017, has also been placed among the priorities of bilateral cooperation in the area of defense and security.
As a result of the meeting, the two countries undertook to intensify information sharing and operational coordination between their respective defence and security forces, providing for a regular monitoring of the implementation of decisions over the next 12 months.
“ Our concerns and interests at sector level [have been analysed], identifying sustainable and flexible approaches that will lead to the overcoming of possible challenges in consolidating the climate of peace, security and stability in the region,” said Casimiro Mueio.
At the economic level, the committee noted that Mozambique and Zambia maintained a positive path despite the impacts of geopolitical conflicts in Europe and instability in the Middle East on fuel prices and other production factors.
Mozambique and Zambia share a border of about 441 kilometres, extending from the tripoint with Zimbabwe to the tripoint with Malawi.
Since 2017, the province of Cabo Delgado faces an armed insurgency that has already caused more than 6,600 deaths and more than 1,2 million displaced persons, having registered sporadic incursions to the neighboring provinces of Niassa and Nampula since 2025.
Zambia has joined the Southern African Development Community Mission in Mozambique (SAMIM), a regional force deployed between 2021 and 2024 to support the fight against terrorism in Cape Delgado, alongside other countries in the region. Bilateral cooperation on security was maintained after the end of the mission, in a context where Mozambique continues to face threats from armed groups in the north of the country.