Pope Francis is embarking on a three-nation tour to southern Africa with a strategic visit first to Mozambique on September 4. Less than four weeks after the country’s ruling party and armed Opposition signed a new peace deal and weeks before national elections. Thirty years after St. John Paul II begged Mozambicans to end their civil war, Pope Francis is expected to endorse the new August 1 Accord and urge its full implementation, when he meets with government authorities on Thursday.

The Pope will arrive in Mozambique on Wednesday and although this is the first time be spending a full day in the region, no public events have been scheduled after a brief welcome ceremony at the airport. The timing of the visit is not coincidental, coming just weeks after the signing of the Accord between the ruling Frelimo Party and the armed Frenamo Opposition and before national elections on October 15.

READ: Pope Francis Stuck In An Elevator, Was Rescued 25 Minutes Later

People: Pope's visit will result in the positive influence

The vote is considered crucial because a new constitutional amendment has decentralized power so that provincial Governors will now be elected directly, rather than appointed by the Central government. Mozambique’s 15-year civil war, which ended with a 1992 peace deal, killed an estimated 1 million people and devastated the former Portuguese colony. The permanent ceasefire signed on August 1, was the culmination of years of negotiations to end fighting that has flared sporadically in the last 27 years. In central Mozambique, Gorongosa National Park warden Pedro Muagura said there are hopes that the Pope’s visit will strengthen the deal. “In general, people are very, very optimistic that the Pope will be a good influence for peace and good elections,” said Muagura. “In 1992, our peace agreement was signed after the Pope’s visit,” he said, referring to John Paul’s historic 1988 trip. “Now there are the same expectations that this pope will bring a positive influence, reconciliation between all Mozambicans. Those are the hopes of so many people here.”

READ: Pope Francis Warns Against 'lukewarm' Christians At Vatican Mass

Pope expected to raise concerns over environmental issues

Francis will also reach out to Mozambicans affected by back-to-back cyclones that ripped into the country earlier this year, leaving more than 650 people dead and destroying vast swaths of crops on the eve of harvest. The unprecedented storms laid bare the impact of climate change on countries like Mozambique, which with its 2,400-kilometer (1,500-mile) coastline is one of the world’s most vulnerable to the rising sea levels, warming waters and unpredictable storms blamed on global warming. Francis has made environmental concerns a pillar of his papacy, linking Global Warming to the persistent exploitation of the world’s poor by the wealthy. He is likely to raise those concerns in Mozambique, as well as on the second leg of his trip to Madagascar, where deforestation is threatening ecosystems and wildlife that are unique to the Indian Ocean island nation. Francis will also make a day-long stop in Mauritius before returning to Rome, on September 10.

READ: Pope Hopes For Peace In Yemen, Syria And Other Flashpoints

READ: Kerala Nun Rape Case: Rape-accused Bishop Franco Mulakkal Writes To Pope Francis Ahead Of Appearance In The Investigation And Seeks Permission To Step Aside From Duties