This Tuesday, the President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, offered the traditional congratulations to the Spanish troops who are on missions abroad both in humanitarian and peace work. During the videoconference, Sánchez also wanted to remember the work of the Armed Forces in disasters, with special mention to the DANA that devastated Valencia and where during the Christmas season there will be members working on cleaning the area.
In his Christmas greetings, Sánchez appreciated that the Spanish troops help “maintain security in spaces of sovereignty and national interest” “every day of the year, 24 hours a day” because, as the president recalled, in emergencies and catastrophes such as the one caused by DANA, the work to help those affected “is absolutely commendable.” “A task that, in addition to saving lives, allows us to gradually recover normality, despite all the difficulties caused by this climate emergency,” he said.
Sánchez has insisted on several occasions about his “pride” in the work carried out by the military “both inside and outside Spain”, something that “their families will keep in mind” even though they are far from home today. “Beyond our borders, for demonstrating our country’s commitment to peace and security,” he said. “You always leave a good memory, a good image that contributes to our Armed Forces are increasingly better valued internationally and that also contributes to improving the reputation of our country,” he added.
The Minister of Defense, Margarita Robles, also intervened, reiterating her “pride” and insisting to the heads of the missions present at the videoconference that “they represent the best of Spain”. The minister thanked them for their “commitment” to maintaining peace and wished them good holidays despite the distance from their families.
The Spanish Armed Forces are present in 16 missions abroad with up to 3,000 soldiers and civil guards deployed on four continents. Only this year more than 15,000 Spanish soldiers have participated in these missions, as the President of the Government recalled. Under the umbrella of the UN, Spanish soldiers are part of the mission in Lebanon (the largest with 700 soldiers) in which they lead the Eastern Sector, and act as observers in Colombia. In 2024, as a consequence of the implementation of the new NATO Forces Model (NFM), Spain will be responsible for leading the Combat Group in NATO’s Forward Presence in Slovakia. In this way, the current deployment within the Euro-Atlantic territory will be increased to 1,700 soldiers.
Added to these deployments is the contribution to the NATO standing naval forcesto police and aerial surveillance devices and support for anti-aircraft defense in the Baltic countries and Turkey. Furthermore, Spain is present in all the military missions that the European Union carries out on the African continent, with deployments in the Central African Republic, Somalia and Senegal, as well as in ‘Operation Atalanta’ that tries to prevent piracy in the Indian Ocean.
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