On August 17, 2022, Ambassador Paul Beresford-Hill met with Ambassador Pedro Comissário, Permanent Representative of Mozambique to the UN, to discuss future cooperation across different areas of the United Nations, as well as to congratulate Ambassador Comissário for his appointment as Chair of the Sixth Committee during the impending 77th General Assembly.

Amb. Comissário expressed great enthusiasm when connecting as he was the main person who, from Portugal in 1997, moved the negotiations between the Governments of the Sovereign Order of Malta and the Republic of Mozambique to establish diplomatic ties.

During the meeting, the Ambassador of Mozambique affirmed that the support of his Mission to the Third Committee is very strong as “Mozambique is a corridor for Human Trafficking, and drug trafficking…”. Furthermore, the issue of refugees it is one of his government’s main priorities, to the point that, together with the United Nations, Mozambique set up their own Refugee Camp several years ago.
One of the topics mentioned was the situation of Syrian refugees, and Ambassador Beresford-Hill updated Ambassador Comissário on the humanitarian aid that the Sovereign Order of Malta provides in the region.

The Republic of Mozambique will make history in 2023 as it is the first time the country becomes one of the non-permanent members of the United Nations Security Council. Ambassador Beresford-Hill conveyed his message of congratulations on behalf of our Observer Mission and the Sovereign Council. Ambassador Comissário took the opportunity to summarize what his country’s priorities will be in this responsibility. He spoke of giving voice to Africa’s problems, and promised to focus his efforts on Women, Peace and Security. They will also support the nexus between climate change and global security.