In Geopolitics Today - Friday, October 15th
European Union to Train Commandos in Mozambique and Israel & Sudan Discuss Steps Toward Normalisation
European Union to Train Commandos in Mozambique
The Council of the European Union has adopted a decision which will launch the European Union Military Training Mission in Mozambique (EUTM Mozambique). The military mission will support and train Mozambican troops to help them better deal with an insurgency which has gripped the country’s Cabo Delgado province. The new European military mission will be taking over from the Portuguese Armed Forces in the coming weeks, and is expected to reach full operation capacity by December.
A deadly insurgency has ravaged the gas-rich Cabo Delgado province since late 2017, with reports indicating some 3,000 dead and 800,000 displaced by violence. Former colonial power Portugal has been providing training for Mozambican troops for years, but now operations are being transformed into an EU military mission. The mandate of the EU mission will initially last two years, during which the strategic objective will be to support units of the Mozambican armed forces. Portugal is expected to maintain a significant force as part of the EU mission, with France, Italy, and Spain now also expected to provide personnel for the mission.
The approval of the EU mission comes at a time when regional powers are looking for support in countering the insurgency which has gripped Mozambique. Last month, the 16 African countries which form the Southern African Development Community (SADC) approved the joint deployment of forces to Mozambique. In addition, Rwanda, which is not a member of the SADC, also announced its intention to deploy a contingent of 1,000 troops and military police to the war-torn province of Cabo Delgado. Instability in the gas-rich province has contributed to soaring gas prices, which in turn has led to mounting international pressure to quash the insurgency.
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Israel & Sudan Discuss Steps Toward Normalisation
Since 1958, Sudan has maintained a boycott of Israel. Sudan was instrumental in the organisation of the fourth Arab League Summit, which took place shortly after the Six-Day War, and where Khartoum hosted regional leaders as they jointly agreed upon the Khartoum resolution. The Khartoum resolution was the backbone of the region-wide boycott of Israel, calling for the rejection of peace and negotiation with Israel, as well as a joint rejection of Israeli statehood. But decades later, with the signing of the Abraham Accords, the once stalwart region-wide boycott appears to be withering away.
The Sudanese government has since 1993 been designated as a state sponsor of terrorism by the United States, complicating its ability to enter negotiations with international partners due to the threat of sanctions. As part of the Abraham Accords Israel signed with the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Morocco, Israel’s firmest ally, the United States, agreed to remove Sudan from its terror list. In exchange, Sudan agreed to end its boycott, paving the way for Sudan’s entry onto the Abraham Accords. Sudan formally agreed to normalise ties with Israel in a deal brokered by the United States. Statements by senior Sudanese officials in recent months have suggested that the military leadership favoured normalising ties with Israel, while the civil leadership was far more reluctant.
Now, the normalisation of ties is slowly taking shape as Sudanese and Israeli officials met in a rare public encounter between the two nations. Sudanese Justice Minister Nasredeen Abdulbari met Israeli Deputy Foreign Minister Idan Roll in Abu Dhabi for discussions on the implementation of the Accords. While not a meeting between high-level officials, the public display of amity is nonetheless a strong sign that Sudan, a long-time supporter of the boycott of Israel, has began the process of establishing economic, political, and military ties.
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