"You are the best image of Spain beyond our borders", says María Dolores de Cospedal

María Dolores de Cospedal pointed out that stability in Mali, throughout the Sahel and Africa as a whole, is fundamental for the defence of our country's security and, fully aware that they are in a highly unstable region, their presence is very important for defending not only our internal security and that of Spanish society, but global security; very often, what is done outside of Spain is as important or even more important than what we do within our own borders.

The Minister for Defence expressed her own gratitude and admiration, together with that of the government and of Spanish society, for the work they are doing at such an important time, far from their families, and asked them to look after themselves and their comrades in arms.

Upon her arrival in Bamako, the Minister for Defence was received by her Malian counterpart, Abdoulaye Idrissa Maiga, by the Spanish Ambassador to the Republic of Mali, José María Matres Manso, and the second-in-command of the Spanish contingent in Mali, Lieutenant Colonel Vicente Payá Zaforteza.

Following the working meeting between the two defence ministers, María Dolores de Cospedal travelled to the Multinational General Headquarters where she held a meeting with Brigadier-General Peter Devogelaere, head of the EUTM-Mali mission and met with Spanish servicemen.

She then flew by helicopter to the town of Koulikoro to visit the Spanish units that form part of the missions to train troops, the joint Spanish-Belgian protection company, the special ops training teams and the logistics unit.

In Koulikoro, the Minister for Defence was saluted by the head of the Spanish contingent at the base, Lieutenant Colonel José Luis Calzada Ojeda and the head of the EUTM-Mali teams in the town, the Belgian Lieutenant Colonel, Thierry Hinnekens, and the Malian colonels that head up the base and the General Staff of Koulikoro, Kéba Sangaré and Abass Dembélé, respectively.

Ministerio de DefensaDuring her time at the base, the head of the Spanish contingent based in Koulikoro informed María Dolores de Cospedal of the activities being undertaken by the Spanish troops.

The Minister for Defence visited the school 'Fraternidad Reino de España', which has been extended and improved thanks to funding provided by the Spanish contingent, and highlighted that, thanks to their humanitarian and cooperation work, boys and girls from Mali can receive an education under suitable conditions.

Operation EUTM Mali

EUTM-Mali is an EU mission to improve the Malian Armed Forces through military education, advice and the training of servicemen under the legitimate control of the civilian authorities, to contribute to the restoration of their military capabilities in order to allow them to run the necessary military operations to recover the integrity of the country and to neutralise the threat from terrorist groups.

Of the 26 participant nations, Spain is the country to provide the second highest number of personnel. It currently has 128 servicemen deployed, of which 13 are based at the General Headquarters of the mission in Bamako, and the rest at the training camp in Koulikoro.

During 2015, 450 servicemen took part in the different rotations of the national contingent, with another 283 in 2016.

On 23 March 2016, the Council of the European Union decided to continue with support for military training and advice to the Malian Armed Forces, approving a third mandate of the EUTM Mali mission until 18 May 2018.

During this third mandate, EUTM Mali will progressively decentralise its activities, by moving them to the different military regions with the ultimate goal of the Malian Armed Forces gradually assuming responsibility for their military education and developing their own training systems, aimed at successfully heading up the reform process.

The area of operations of the mission will extend from the south of the country up to the curve in the River Niger, taking in the towns of Gao and Timbuktu.

Over the last three years, EUTM Mali has trained eight Inter-arms Tactical Groups, and has carried out various leadership and specialised training courses. In total, more than 8,000 soldiers have been trained by EUTM Mali, accounting for some two-thirds of the Malian Army.

Since July 2016, the mission's commander has been Brigadier-General, Peter Devogelaere, of Belgian nationality.