Mozambique assumes presidency of UN Security Council, sets priorities.

Mozambique is President of the UN Security Council for the month of March 2023. It is also Mozambique's first time on the Council. Ambassador Pedro Comissario Afonso, the Permanent Representative of Mozambique to the UN, spoke to Africa Renewal's Franck Kuwonu about his country's priorities and his own journey as a diplomat. Here are excerpts:

Can you tell us a little bit about yourself and how long you have been in this role?

My name is Pedro Comissario Afonso. I went to law school in Maputo, and I have a master's degree in law from Columbia University, USA. I have been with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs since 1981, so it means almost 42 years of experience in that domain.

I was Mozambique's Permanent Representative to the UN in New York for the first time in1989 to 1996. I then was posted to Portugal, then the Nordic countries and then Geneva. I was later appointed the deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and here I am in New York again tasked with the responsibility of representing my country in the UN Security Council.

How has it been so far and what would you consider your main achievements and challenges?

One of the best things in this career is that you have a team that helps you perform the duties and responsibilities assigned to you.

In that context, my most important achievement from 1989 to 1996 was to get the UN, including the Security Council, involved in the peace process in Mozambique. This led to the deployment of a peacekeeping operation from 1992 to 1994. Thus, Mozambique has a long history of cooperation with the UN, particularly in peace and conflict resolution.

Peace and security in Africa is the top, top priority for our presence in the Security Council - first because we are Africans, and second, because we have extensive experience in dealing with conflicts in our own country.

Any other achievements?

Well, each time you are assigned to a post in diplomacy, it means that there must be a priority or some fundamental tasks for you to perform. This was the case when I was posted to Portugal where my main responsibility was to mobilize Portuguese investments for Mozambique. We were coming out of 16 years of conflict and hence we needed a lot of investments. But I was not alone. My colleagues in other parts of the world were also given the top priority mandate of mobilizing investment for Mozambique.

After Portugal, I was assigned to the Nordic countries. These are among our closest friends since the times of our...