Officials and experts from Zambia and Mozambique on Monday commenced preparatory work for a draft treaty aimed at preventing border conflicts.
The meeting of experts from the two countries was expected to produce a draft document on a boundary agreement between the two countries as part of the African Union Border Program (AUBP).
Last year, African ministers in charge of border issues tasked the AUBP to support African countries in finalizing delimitation and demarcation of border areas by 2022.
Travor Kaunda, Permanent Secretary in Zambia’s Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources, said at the start of the meeting that boundaries of African countries were determined by colonial administrators and were poorly defined and ambiguous, hence sources of state conflicts.
“It is for this reason that African heads of States and Governments agreed that these boundaries should be properly demarcated and reaffirmed as they were the sources of state to state conflicts,” he said.
The meeting, he said, would help the experts with skills that will enable them to draft treaties that were forward looking and alive to the current economic and social climate between the two countries.
He commended the two governments for efforts aimed at ensuring properly demarcated bounder areas, adding that this demonstrated a strong bond of neighborliness.
Manuel Ferrao, President of the National Institute for the Sea and Boundaries in Mozambique said on the same occasion that having properly demarcated border areas was cardinal in ensuring peace and stability in Africa.
He said having properly demarcated boundaries was also vital for sustainable economic development of countries as encroachment has been a source of complaints in some African countries.
Source: Xinhuanet
