Military cooperation with Mozambique was reinforced with the visit of the Portuguese Defense Minister to the country, which ended today. Gomes Cravinho assured his counterpart that Portugal will train Mozambican rapid intervention forces, already in early 2021
The two defense ministers, Portuguese João Gomes Cravinho and Mozambican Jaime Neto, agreed to reinforce the cooperation of the two countries in this area, considering the situation of insecurity and terrorism in Cabo Delgado, on the one hand, but also to “enhance the added value for the Armed Forces of the two countries, namely with regard to the formation of Special Forces ”, communicated the Portuguese MNE.
The two countries thus enter a new cycle of bilateral cooperation in the field of Defense. Gomes Cravinho’s office informed, in the balance of the minister’s visit to Mozambique, that Portugal will train and train Mozambican rapid intervention forces, at the beginning of 2021, to better work in Cabo Delgado, in the north of the country, devastated for three years by Islamic terrorist attacks. The training will include Special Forces, Marines, Special Operations and tactical air control.
The Minister of Defense of Mozambique informed Gomes Cravinho “the economic and security situation, having emphasized the response that the Government has given to the security challenges prevalent in some districts of the province of Cabo Delgado”.
The two ministers “recognized that terrorism today constitutes a transnational threat that requires concerted efforts by the international community, and the new cycle of bilateral cooperation constitutes an opportunity to respond more effectively to the needs of Mozambique in the fight against terrorism”.
