Cazenga – Angola’s Inspector General of the Ministry of National Defence, Former Combatants and Veterans of the Homeland, Gouveia de Sá Miranda, on Friday, highlighted the Armed Forces role in maintaining national sovereignty and the territorial integrity of countries.
"In the architecture of states, the Armed Forces always play a prominent role that should never be neglected, due to their decisive role in maintaining the territorial integrity of countries," he said during the closing ceremony of the Nguizani-Logex exercise of the Southern African Development Community (SADC), held at the War College in Luanda.
The inspector general recalled that in times of peace, they have the opportunity to adjust their personnel to the new realities of the absence of an identified real enemy, and can reorganise and modernise with the best in the world in terms of military weapons, techniques and equipment.
With regard to the current context, Gouveia de Sá Miranda said that the mission of the Armed Forces is to defend the superior interests of states, in the spirit of peace, stability and the guarantee of development and progress.
"I am of the opinion that missions require adequate preparation, capable of making them correspond directly with the requirements of the terrain, the environment and other probable implications, including those of a logistical nature," he said.
In this regard, he continued, there is an increasing need to improve the decision-making process, quickly bringing together all the elements favourable to carrying out such actions.
He recognised the need, in practice, to properly apply the principles of coherence and flexibility and to save resources, according to the context presented.
In turn, the Chief of Staff for SADC Standby Force Planning, Brigadier Raymond Ndwandwe, valued the good relations forged during Logex in the interests of the SADC region.
He also said that by endeavouring to improve the full operational capability of the Forces, in this case through Exercise Nguizani-Logex, it is hoped that the effects will contribute to a greater capacity for conflict resolution in the region.
Meanwhile, Angola's Foreign Minister, Teté António, recognised that regular SADC military exercises have served to improve regional capacity to ensure peace and security in Africa.
He added that this is not only to maintain security and peace in the region and continent, but also to deal with other challenges such as natural disasters and humanitarian aid.
He assured that these activities demonstrate the regional capacity to assume its responsibilities with regard to conflicts on the continent.
A total of 462 people (338 military, 54 police and 70 civilians) took part in the exercise, under the slogan "Africa for peace and prosperity."
The Southern African Development Community (SADC) was founded on 17 August 1992, with headquarter in Gaborone, Botswana, and it is made up of 16 member states, namely Angola, Botswana, Comoros, Democratic Republic of Congo, eSwatini, Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Seychelles, South Africa, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
The President of the Republic of Angola, João Lourenço, took over the rotating presidency of SADC in Luanda last August. DJ/ACS/SC/DAN/DOJ
