Africa-Press – Angola. The Zonal A phase of the fifth edition of the Naval Exercise Grand African Nemo, coordinated by Angola, begins this Thursday, in the port area of Banana, in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
At the event, which will take place until the 14th of this month, naval units from the area, which also includes the Republic of Congo, will develop the themes “Maritime Piracy, “Drug Trafficking” and “Undeclared and Unregulated Illegal Fishing”, involving , in addition to the port area of Banana, the maritime areas of Cabinda (Angola), stage of Friday’s operations (13th), and Ponta Negra (Congo), where training will culminate (14th).
Speaking this Wednesday at a press conference at the Naval Base of the Angolan Navy (MGA), in Luanda, the sea captain and spokesman for the exercise, Sebastião Gregório, explained that Its purpose is to prepare the naval forces of the countries of the Gulf of Guinea in actions to combat illicit activities at sea and related activities, guaranteeing maritime security and trade in that region, in particular, and in the world.
He made it known that, in Zone A, Naval Units interact with the Amazona Patrol Ship, from the Federative Republic of Brazil, with the Congolese region of Ponta Negra housing the Central African Regional Maritime Security Center (CRESMAC).
The Angolan delegation includes 65 Navy personnel and 145 in total, including members of the National Air Force, National Police, Foreign Migration Service (SME), Criminal Investigation Service (SIC), Border Guard Troops, Customs Tax Police and representatives of the Multi-Sectoral Operational Group for Maritime Surveillance and Inspection.
Previously, he explained, the national phase of the Grand African Nemo exercise took place (from the 4th to the 11th of this month), that is, its first stage, in which 18 countries in the region carried out training at the level of their respective maritime territories.
During this period, Angola developed the themes “Maritime Pollution”, in the Luanda area, “Illegal Immigration”, in Ambiz, Bengo province, and “Arms Trafficking”, in Soyo (Zaire).
In the second phase, starting this Thursday, the Navies and Coast Guards of these 18 States in the Gulf Region will be divided into zones, until the 19th of this month, in a more comprehensive action that will involve approximately one thousand and 350 military personnel, 450 civilians , 26 ships and four aircraft.
Participating in the exercise are São Tomé and Príncipe, Cameroon and Gabon (Zone D), Togo, Benin and Nigeria (Zone E), Sierra Leone, Liberia, Cote d’Ivoire and Ghana (Zone F), Cape Verde, Senegal, Gambia, Guinea-Bissau and Republic of Guinea (Zone G) and Angola, Republic of Congo and DR Congo (Zone A).
According to the spokesperson, the training involves six partners from the North and South Atlantic, namely the United States of America, England, France, Italy, Spain and Brazil.
The Grand African Nemo is an annual exercise embodied in the Yaoundé (Cameroon) code of conduct aimed at the naval forces of the Gulf of Guinea countries, taking into account maritime security and trade in the region and beyond.
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