Speaking to RTP, the admiral considered that "the most significant thing" is to collaborate with the Angolan navy in an area that is "very relevant".
"I think the most significant thing is to collaborate with the Angolan Navy in an area that is very important for us, for all of us, Angolans and Portuguese, which is maritime security in the Atlantic, because this maritime security affects us all", he said.
On the occasion, he also considered that for the Portuguese navy it is also "an honor to be able to provide this service" and help the "sister navy". "Of course, for the Portuguese navy it is also an honor to be able to provide this service and give this help to our sister navy, which is the Angolan navy", said Admiral Gouveia e Melo, quoted by RTP.
Over six weeks, advances RTP, the Angolan military received training at the Marines' School and at the Portuguese Navy's Integrated Naval Training and Assessment centre. As part of the project – which the European Union/Angola Dialogue Facility is responsible for and which is financed by the European Union Development Fund –, the military also had the opportunity to carry out demonstration exercises on the high seas for technical training.
About the experience, one of the trainees of the Angolan navy, Adriano Lourenço, said that it was "very pleasant". "We were able to get notions of a lot of things", especially "in what is the area of (...) maritime approach and inspection", he added.
"It is a project of the commander of the Angolan navy to create an approach unit. The main objective of this training is to take everyone, all the material or tool possible, which we can then transmit to the others there in Angola, in order to give continuity of what approach training is", said the trainee, in statements to RTP.
This initiative aims to contribute to the fight against crime on the Angolan coast and in the Gulf of Guinea, says RTP.
