Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park's oral contributions in the House of Lords on 17th March 2021, Official report, columns 300-303, what assessment she has made of reports of violence in Mozambique related to the LNG project supported by UK Export Finance.

We are deeply concerned by the threat from extremist groups in north-eastern Mozambique, including the attack in the vicinity of the Liquid Natural Gas (LNG) facility in Palma in March. On 26 and 28 March, my predecessor condemned the appalling attacks in Cabo Delgado and made clear that we stand with the people of Mozambique against terrorism. Lord Ahmad, the UK's Minister of State for Human Rights, also spoke to Mozambican Foreign Minister Macamo in March, reaffirming UK support to help Mozambique fight terrorism, and stressing that respect for human rights must be at the forefront of Mozambique's response. We are working with the Government of Mozambique to address the root drivers of conflict and instability, including by providing targeted assistance under the framework of a Defence Memorandum of Understanding. The UK is also working to strengthen international cooperation, and co-chairs with Ireland a high-level international taskforce on Cabo Delgado.

We welcome news that Rwandan, Southern African Development Community and Mozambican Forces have recovered areas previously under insurgent control. We look forward to the Government working with international partners to ensure humanitarian assistance reaches affected areas, and reconstruction can take place.