Prime Minister visits Portuguese troops in Central African Republic

The mission of the Portuguese forces stationed in the Central African Republic is "the largest and also the one that carries the greatest risk for our national forces. I know the challenges felt in the Central African Republic are particularly difficult and complex. The allies don’t always help, and we can’t expect the enemies to make life easier", said Prime Minister António Costa at the end of the Christmas lunch with the Portuguese troops.

We currently have 191 Portuguese troops deployed to the Central African Republic under the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in the Central African Republic (Minusca) and 45 vehicles. There are a further 26 Portuguese troops in the European Union training mission (EUTM-CAR) in the country.

"I’m proud that the praises to the Portuguese military and security forces are unanimous, whether from the United Nations, the European Union, or the Central African Republic authorities. The Portuguese make friends wherever they go, it’s an innate feature", he remarked, adding that "we wish to leave the Central African Republic with even more friends".

Meeting with the Prime Minister

Before having lunch with the Portuguese troops, the Prime Minister, together with the Minister of Defence, João Gomes Cravinho and the General Chief of Staff, Admiral Silva Ribeiro, met with the Prime Minister of the Central African Republic, Henri-Marie Dondra.

At the end of the meeting, Prime Minister Dondra praised the bilateral cooperation between the two countries, especially on a military level, and noted the importance of training.

The Portuguese Prime Minister expressed Portugal’s solidarity with the Central African authorities and people and congratulated the cease-fire between the Government and the armed groups, as well as the preparation for dialogue, which may bring new impetus to the peace process, ending the insecurity felt and the humanitarian crises.

António Costa reiterated Portugal’s commitment to the peace keeping and security operations in the Central African Republic, emphasising that the country is doing so within the United Nations framework. "We have an effective commitment to working together and to ensuring the population’s safety and security. In this field, the Central African Republic authorities can count on us" and the European Union. 

Last week, the European Union decided to temporarily suspend the military training mission due to a Russian private security firm being in control of units of the Central African Republic armed forces that were trained by the EU. 

The European Council will decide at the start of next year if it is to extend or not the current European Union Training (EUTM) and Advisory (EUAM) Missions in the country, depending on the guarantees given by the Bangui Government that this will not happen again.

From a bilateral perspective, Portugal and the Central African Republic have a bilateral agreement for training troops. The Portuguese Prime Minister claimed that Portugal will study the best way to develop technical-military cooperation", adding that "for us, this is a major responsibility mission".