Mozambique joined the British Commonwealth due to historical and economic ties
the verdict
REFUTED
the evidence says no
refutedsupported
the weight of evidence
0 sources for · 1 against
AS REPORTEDno primary record reached; this is what the reporting says
Historical references indicate that Mozambique gained neither trade nor aid by virtue of its membership in the Commonwealth, contradicting the claim that it joined due to historical and economic ties.
There are few direct benefits of Commonwealth membership and some debate about its usefulness , so the question is a fair one. Mozambique gained neither trade nor aid by virtue of membership. I expect that the question would be addressed definitively in The Commonwealth Brand: Global Voice, Local Action by Victoria Te Velde (Ashgate, 2011) and in the SADC's Mozambique in the Commonwealth (1997), but I do not have access to the full text of either work. Factors seem to include the following : Impoverished shortly after independence, Mozambique had become highly dependent on foreign aid, especially from the Soviet Union. President Samora Machel in his later years, and his successor Joaquim Chissano, pursued stronger ties with other countries and international organizations to balance out this dependence. For example, Mozambique is a full member of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation an