Last year, Portugal participated with 2,427 soldiers in a total of 29 international missions, most of which were carried out within NATO, the Ministry of National Defense said on Tuesday.
In a statement and in a published report prepared by the Directorate General of National Defense Policy, the government stated that in 2022 “Portugal participated in 29 missions in the countries of the African, American, Asian and European continents, in which 2427 military personnel, 89 tactical vehicles were involved , nine ships and eight aircraft.
The majority, namely 1,171 soldiers, participated in 11 Atlantic Alliance missions “in Lithuania, Iceland, Romania and Iraq, as well as in the Mediterranean, the Baltic Sea, the Black Sea and the Atlantic.”
Within the framework of the United Nations (UN), Portugal participated in three missions involving 605 troops in Colombia, Mali and the Central African Republic.
In six European Union missions, 385 soldiers participated “in theaters in Somalia, Mali, the Central African Republic and Mozambique, as well as in the Mediterranean and the Indian Ocean.”
In bilateral and multilateral missions, 266 soldiers participated in nine missions, namely in Romania, Guinea-Bissau, Jordan, the Central African Republic, Mali, the Gulf of Guinea and Sao Tome and Principe, the report said.
“The commitment of the Armed Forces to carry out missions and operations abroad has increased significantly since the second quarter of 2022, which is mainly due to the outbreak of conflict in Eastern Europe, which arose as a result of the Russian Federation’s invasion of Ukraine on December 24th. February 2022,” the text says.
The change in question, the report continues, “reveals an upward trend over the course of the year, motivated by the deteriorating international security environment, especially in the Euro-Atlantic region, and the need to ensure a stronger military presence on the eastern flank of the Atlantic Alliance.”
In FRONTEX agency operations in 2022, Portugal’s participation had 174 “military or paramilitary personnel”.
In the past year, national participation in international missions had, according to the document, the following distribution: NATO (38%), UN (32%), EU + FRONTEX (20%), EU without FRONTEX (19%), bilateral/multilateral (10% ).
As for the geographic regions with the highest incidence of military personnel, the national presence is highlighted in Eastern Europe and the African Triangle, the Central African Republic, Mozambique and the Gulf of Aden.
The report emphasizes that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine “raised the level of national efforts in 2022, which was immediately reflected in the geographical distribution of military contingents as a result of Portugal’s commitment as a responsible international actor and member of the Atlantic Alliance.”
There is an increase in the presence in the Mediterranean, as well as “the projection of the Portuguese military on the Atlantic space and in the Sahel and other parts of Africa.”
“The terrorist threat in its jihadist form has spread across the Sahel and West Africa, spawning ramifications in the Gulf of Guinea and fueling conflict in sub-Saharan Africa and East Africa with the potential risk of spreading to other countries and regions.” , highlighted.
Also last year, “Portuguese generals simultaneously assumed command of three European Union missions in Mozambique, the Central African Republic and the Indian Ocean,” he adds.
Author: Portuguese
Source: CM Jornal
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