Mozambican president to meet opposition leader

Mozambican President Filipe Nyusi is to meet the leader of the country's main opposition Renamo, Afonso Dhlakama, according to Nyusi's political advisor, Antonio Gaspar on Friday in Maputo.

Gaspar told reporters in Maputo that "the head of state is ready to meet Dhlakama at any time. The date is to be fixed soon."

The two were to hold talks in the capital on Jan. 23, but they failed to do so.

Dhlakama was quoted by the state Mozambique News Agency (AIM) on Friday as claiming that there have been advances towards a meeting between him and Nyusi, but declined to go into any detail.

On Tuesday, Nyusi had told reporters in Maputo that he is willing to meet with Dhlakama, declaring that "through conversation, through dialogue, we can reach conclusions about what we think is useful for Mozambicans."

Mozambique is facing a climate of tension after last October's general elections, when the polls showed that the ruling Frelimo party and its presidential candidate Nyusi won the elections.

The leader of the former rebel movement Renamo, Dhlakama, rejects the outcome, claiming that the elections were fraudulent in favor of the ruling party and its candidate, an accusation denied by the Frelimo government which has been in power since the southern African country's independence from Portugal in 1975.

The two sides have been in dialogue since 2013, mainly focusing on the integration of Renamo's armed men. Endi