Africa-Press – Cape verde. The ambassador of the European Union (EU) in Cape Verde said this Friday that talks are taking place with the government of the archipelago on forms of assistance to reinforce maritime surveillance, through the European Peace Support Mechanism.
“There is an express desire on the part of Cape Verde to benefit from this type of assistance, like other partners on the African continent, and we, the European Union, have to see how we can respond to that request”, said Carla Grijó.
“Whatever the decision is, it must be based on a set of needs”, he added, in an allusion to points that should be indicated by Cape Verde during the conversations that “are taking place”.
Classifying the matter as one of the topics to be followed in 2024, the person in charge said she hopes that the talks “bear fruit”, while it is still premature to indicate the format, values or object of support, which in other countries has been used to deliver equipment and provide training.
The promotion of investments linked to the sea and protection against illegal trafficking are two of the reasons that, according to the diplomat, justify support for a country that already has a special partnership with the EU.
“It makes sense for Cape Verde to request this assistance. The EU has been making important investments” which it plans to continue, “for example, in the port area and in the blue economy”, and “if there is no maritime security, economic activities linked to the sector have more difficulty in thriving”, he said.
Another strong argument is the “strategic location”, at the intersection of important maritime routes, but which also makes the archipelago “vulnerable to illicit trafficking”, pointed out the diplomat.
“All of these are arguments for Cape Verde to request this type of assistance with a focus on maritime security”, an area for which it currently has limited resources, he concluded.
The European Peace Support Mechanism was created in March 2021 to finance all actions of the Common Foreign and Security Policy in the military and defense domains, with the aim of preventing conflicts, preserving peace and strengthening international security and stability .
Under this format, in the last week alone, the EU announced support of one million euros to carry out training exercises for the Somali army and 21 million euros for naval forces in Ghana and Cameroon, involved in maritime security operations. in the Gulf of Guinea.
The mechanism supports training and equipping actions in a Portuguese-speaking country, Mozambique, preparing troops to face the armed insurgency that has been affecting the province of Cabo Delgado since 2017.
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