NATO Secretary General's message to the African Union

On behalf of NATO, please accept my best wishes for the success of the AMANI AFRICA II exercise. The exercise is yet another milestone for the African Union as it develops its capabilities to help meet the many complex challenges on the African continent.

Cooperation between NATO and the African Union has deepened steadily for a number of years, in a spirit of good will between our two organizations. At the request of the African Union, NATO has been providing various forms of assistance, such as planning and other support for the African Union’s current operations, as well as for its longer-term peacekeeping capabilities, including through the operationalisation of the African Standby Force. 

We have stepped up our training and education activities, in accordance with the African Union’s identified needs, including through Mobile Education Training Teams. At the African Union Headquarters in Addis Ababa, a NATO Senior Military Liaison Officer is helping to enhance our technical cooperation as well as our political dialogue.

The AMANI AFRICA II exercise provides a further example of our excellent cooperation. NATO experts have supported the preparation phases of the exercise, and played an active role in the execution phase.

NATO’s support to the African Union complements that of the United Nations, the European Union, and African regional organizations, as well as that by individual nations. 

We all share the vision of African nations cooperating ever more closely and effectively in matters of peace and security.