10
Nov
African Standby Force Gets U.S.$22 Million Boost
The European Union has so far committed nearly $22 million to support the establishment of the African Standby Force, a senior EU official has said. Addressing delegates at the on-going Strategic Headquarters Training Session in Harare recently, EU representative Lieutenant Colonel Anton Gash said a total of 5,2 million euros (about $6,5 million) had been set aside for the Command Post Exercise as well as an additional 12,5million euros ($15,5 million) for long term strategic communication connectivity.
“The basic funding for the Command Post Exercise (CPX) 5,2 million euros is entirely secure. We have a little bit more work to do to make sure that we can commit and spend roughly 12 million euros which is underpinning the creation of the Command Control Communications and Intelligence Architecture for the AU,” he said.
“The African Peace and Security Architecture is a central part of the EU’s daily policies, is very well-funded and very well resourced. The EU’s political will remains firm to support Africa, to support the AU and to support Exercise AMANI AFRICA II.”
The military force will help Africa to overcome the challenges in the field of peace and security.
AMANI AFRICA II (AMANI is the Kiswahili word for peace) seeks to develop the ASF meant to strengthen the African Union’s capability to intercede in Africa’s hot spots and facilitate African solutions to African problems.
Lt Col Gash also stressed the importance and significance of the Africa-EU relationship and how African issues were a top priority.
“We have a lot of shared history, significant historical ties, large populations, expatriate populations living in Africa, big business interests and perhaps most importantly huge Diaspora populations from Africa living in European countries,” he said.
“These are people making huge contributions on a daily basis.”
The EU has been supporting the initiative under the Joint Africa-EU Strategy which aims to ensure peace, security and stability in Africa under the African Peace and Security Architecture (APSA).
The establishment of the African Standby Force aims to improve African capacity to predict and prevent or respond to crises.
Source: http://allafrica.com/stories/201411070959.html