U.S. Institute of Peace experts discuss the latest foreign policy issues from around the world in On Peace, a brief weekly collaboration with SiriusXM's POTUS Channel 124.

Transcript

Laura Coates: Joining us now is Tom Sheehy, a distinguished fellow in United States Institute of Peace's Africa Center. Good morning, Tom. How are you?

Tom Sheehy: Good morning, Laura, I'm doing well.

Laura Coates: Here's a country most people may not be thinking of top of mind: Mozambique. And for years it was not a U.S. Africa policy focus, but it is today. What's changed?

Tom Sheehy: Well over the last 10 years or so, Laura, we've seen a renewed interest in natural gas, critical minerals, and Mozambique has an abundant supply. And so it's largely been driven by interest in some of the natural resources in Mozambique. But also, the country has seen some promise developing a more peaceful situation, and there's been some hope that this is a country we can actually work with.

Laura Coates: So in terms of the programming, or what the focus has been, what is the United States doing to either support it or to access these minerals?

Tom Sheehy: Sure. Well, there's been some major U.S. investment by Exxon Mobil in the natural gas resources, but that's been aggressively backed by various U.S. programs including the Development Finance Corporation and the Export-Import Bank, in an effort to assist these companies. There's also been some Department of Energy grants to develop a graphite project, for example, again speaking to the interest in critical minerals. But as you've seen in the headlines, there's been major civil unrest in Mozambique, and so that poses a big, big challenge.

Laura Coates: And what's been the basis for that unrest? The elections?

Tom Sheehy: Well, the elections have sparked it, but really, Laura, it's been several years in the making. And what we're seeing in Mozambique is what we're seeing elsewhere in Africa, in Kenya and Nigeria, and really throughout the world. We're seeing a dissatisfaction with the ruling party. And Mozambique's had one party since independence, and there's a sense that the elections were unfair, that the party isn't speaking for all the people, that resources are being developed in a way that doesn't spread the benefits, and that there's corruption, and so all of this combined with youth unemployment of 30%, 40%, 50% and you've got a very, very volatile situation.

Laura Coates: Well, what efforts are being done to support and change that? It sounds like if it's decades in the making, what are the course correction points that are prioritized?

Tom Sheehy: Well, there have been some efforts, and again, the U.S. has prioritized Mozambique. And the trick is to try to pressure the government to operate in a more inclusive way that shares the wealth, that is more democratic, allows more Mozambicans to speak to the political process. The question is, how much influence does the U.S. have? Traditionally, this isn't a country we've had a lot of influence in, and moreover, these days, we've got a lot of other countries interested. China, Russia, Gulf countries are all players in Africa now. And so really it challenges the U.S. ability to engage and direct things in a more democratic, inclusive way.

Laura Coates: I've seen that the Corporation and Export-Import bank, they have committed billions of dollars to projects in Mozambique, and also bilateral aid exceeded, I think, nearly half a billion dollars last year alone. There's also Millennium Challenge Corporation signing a half a million dollar, or $500 million, excuse me, compact with Mozambique and the Department of Energy [about] that graphite mine. I mean, this is a lot of resources being put in. Is it enough?

Tom Sheehy: It is Laura, it's a lot. And again, the question becomes, can we use that influence in a positive, constructive way with the government, so that it becomes more inclusive? We have seen some positive developments in the region. We saw in South Africa, elections led to the ruling party, the African National Congress, which had been in power since the end of apartheid, lost a free and fair election and ceded power. So the hope is that the ruling party can see that the way forward isn't to hold on to power at all costs, and we can engage constructively with diplomacy, with our resources, and move the government to a more inclusive posture. That's a big challenge, and the days and weeks ahead are going to be critical in seeing how effective we can be in our diplomacy.

Laura Coates: Tom Sheehy, Distinguished Fellow in United States Institute of Peace's Africa Center. Thank you so much for joining us this morning.

Tom Sheehy: Thank you, Laura. It's been a pleasure.