The European Union is providing additional support to the Mozambican military in the tune of €45 million, and this will include equipment, supplies and training.
The European Union Council announced that it adopted a decision on Thursday amending the assistance measure for support to the Mozambican Armed Forces under the European Peace Facility (EPF) adopted in November 2021, adding a further amount of €45 million. This additional support brings overall EPF support for Mozambique to €89 million in total.
“The assistance measure aims to strengthen EU support for capacity building and the deployment of the units of the Mozambican Armed Forces trained by the EU Training Mission in Mozambique (EUTM Mozambique). This support consists of the provision of integrated packages of equipment and supplies in conjunction with EU training missions. The aim is to ensure that the training is as efficient and effective as possible, enabling EUTM-trained troops to be fully operational and self-sufficient upon deployment,” the EU said.
“Through this assistance measure, the EU will finance equipment to benefit the eleven Mozambican companies to be trained by the EUTM, including individual and collective equipment, ground mobility assets, as well as a field hospital.”
The European Peace Facility was established in March 2021 to finance all Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP) actions in military and defence areas, with the aim of preventing conflict, preserving peace and strengthening international security and stability. In particular, the European Peace Facility allows the EU to finance actions designed to strengthen the capacities of third states and regional and international organisations as regards military and defence matters.
The Cabo Delegado province in northern Mozambique is experiencing a serious crisis at various levels, particularly humanitarian, economic and internal defence.
Last month, Portuguese government authorised the expenditure of up to €40 million for the European Union Military Training Mission (EUTM) in Mozambique.
The funding will be disbursed thus; 30 million euros in 2022 and 10 million euros in 2023.
The EUTM is training Mozambican military personnel, in March, it completed the training of two Mozambican military companies; both drawn from the Army and Navy formations.
They were trained by the Portuguese component of the European Union Training Mission (EUTM) as part of the bilateral defence cooperation between Portugal and Mozambique.
Since the start of the crises, more than 3,100 African, European and US soldiers have already been deployed to the southern African country’s Cabo Delgado province to quell unrest.
Islamic-State linked militants have been wreaking havoc in the area since 2017, raiding villages and towns in violence that has claimed at least 3,340 lives and displaced more than 800,000 people.