Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what support he is providing to the Government of Mozambique to tackle jihadists in north eastern Mozambique.

Through the British High Commission in Maputo, the UK is in regular contact with the Government of Mozambique and has discussed support in tackling the growing terrorist insurgency in North East Mozambique; centred on the Cabo Delgado region. The problem requires a cross Government response, including tackling the underlying issues which foster the conditions of such an insurgency. Whilst some Defence activity has been paused during the current Covid19 movement restrictions, we anticipate increasing our engagements once restrictions are lifted, facilitated by a defence cooperation Memorandum of Understanding that was signed in May 2019.