Portugal engages the Armed Forces in International Missions to Maintain International Peace, Security and Stability

By Joel Balsinha,Lisbon

“Portugal maintains a regular presence of Seconded National Forces within the scope of its bilateral and multilateral cooperation, under intergovernmental agreements and at the request of the authorities that receive our forces in its territory.Mozambique fits into these synergies, since the revision of the Framework Cooperation Program provides for the strengthening of training and education, in what we see as a contribution to the fight against terrorism that extends in the African space, where our Armed Forces are present”, said João Gomes Cravinho Minister of National Defense on January 6th, during the presentation of international missions, which are planned for the Armed Forces throughout this year, where the Chief of the General Staff was also present, General of the Armed Forces, Admiral António Silva Ribeiro as well as other Military Chiefs and Operational Commanders of the various branches of the Armed Forces.

In twenty-seven international missions, 1,706 military personnel, seventy-five tactical vehicles and seven aircraft deployed by Portugal from the Navy, Army and Air Force will be in action. Of these tasks, it is known that ten occur in the service of NATO, five in the European Union, three in charge of the United Nations and nine engaged in bilateral or multilateral acts as described.The three branches of the Armed Forces contribute to the fulfillment of the commitments assumed by the Portuguese with their allies, in the maintenance of peace, security and stability.

The greater presence of the Portuguese contingent with means and equipment in the Detached National Forces (FND) goes against a common interest in collective and strategic defense and security with a more robust presence in the Atlantic.From what we had access in 2020, Portuguese forces were integrated in the field in Poland, Afghanistan, Iraq, Mediterranean, Atlantic and Mediterranean, Algeria, United Arab Emirates, Morocco, Mauritania, Qatar, Tunisia at the service of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization ( NATO), in turn in the Indian, Somalia, Central African Republic, Mali and Mediterranean countries by the European Union (UE), in the Central African Republic, Mali and Colombia in the United Nations Integrated Multidimensional Mission for Stabilization and Peacekeeping and in other bilateral and multilateral in the Mediterranean, Iraq, Jordan, GAN RCA, S. Tomé and Principe, in the Gulf of Guinea and Chad.

The data indicated a total of twenty two missions, minus five than expected for this year, with the presence of five ships, seven aircraft, twenty-six tactical vehicles and 1738 military. Discriminately we verify that the Portuguese forces in NATO carried out six missions with the participation of 760 soldiers, a frigate, a submarine and five aircraft, while by the EU they carried out five missions where seventy-four soldiers were deployed and a submarine, by the UN three missions where they served 474 military personnel and an aircraft and in bilateral and multilateral missions eight missions with 425 military personnel, a frigate, a patrol, a hydrographic vessel and an aircraft.

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