7th National Force Detachment will be in Romania for six months
Two hundred Army and Navy personnel of the 7th National Force Detachment for Romania bid farewell to Lisbon for the next six months yesterday, with the Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces (CEMGFA) highlighting the national commitment to international peace and security.
General José Nunes da Fonseca, presided over the farewell ceremony for soldiers of the 7th National Force Detachment, Mechanised Rifle Company, saying: “We all wanted to witness this ceremony, full of symbolism, which represents another step forward in the national commitment to international peace and security (…) With the deployment of military forces, Portugal reaffirms its solidity and consistency in fulfilling its commitments.”
These commitments, according to the general, “result from the responsibility to act and react in the current international context, marked by growing instability, hybrid threats and cross-cutting risks”.
“This year, we will deploy our National Detached Forces on 43 missions across four continents, involving around 2,500 military personnel. These women and men earn our utmost trust, and they invariably demonstrate determination, professionalism, solidarity and dynamism,” he added.
According to the CEMGFA “the Russian Federation’s aggression against Ukraine has underlined the centrality of NATO’s founding principles,” such as “cohesion, readiness and solidarity.”
“The Alliance’s firm response, anchored in collective defence, reaffirmed its role as the guarantor of territorial integrity and common security.”
According to the statement put out by the Armed Forces yesterday, following the invasion of Ukraine, “NATO decided to strengthen the defence of its south-eastern border through the ‘enhanced Vigilance Activities’ (eVA) mission to promote cohesion in protection, deterrence of external threats and, if necessary, the defence of Alliance members”.
This 7th National Force Deployed to Romania, “materialises Portugal’s strong commitment” to NATO.
These Portuguese missions to Romania began in 2022, the year Russia launched its full scale military invasion of Ukraine.
Source: LUSA
