On July 27, 2022, the Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Defense, François Bausch met with the Minister of Defense of Portugal, Helena Carreiras, via videoconference.
During this first bilateral meeting, the Defense Ministers welcomed the good bilateral cooperation and confirmed their willingness to continue these efforts.
Among the topics discussed during the interview was the trilateral cooperation between Cabo Verde, Portugal and Luxembourg. François Bausch confirmed the continuation of the efforts of the Luxembourg Defense in Cabo Verde, together with the Cape Verdean authorities, particularly in the context of funding the training of naval officers. The Minister of Defense of Portugal, for her part, reiterated the Cape Verdean authorities’ need for reconnaissance and surveillance capabilities in the maritime domain. In this context, the Minister of Defence, François Bausch, underlined that the Luxembourg Army is specialized in the field of ISR (intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance) and he also offered to provide images of the future satellite of observation: “Next year, in 2023, we will launch our observation satellite LUXEOSys. This satellite can capture high-precision images and thus provide important information to the Cape Verdean and Portuguese authorities.” In order to deepen the trilateral cooperation in the field of defence, the Minister of Defense of Portugal invited François Bausch to participate in a meeting in Lisbon, together with the Minister of Defense of Cabo Verde, in the autumn of this year.
The Defense Ministers also discussed the situation on the African continent, particularly in the Sahelian zone and in Mozambique. Concerning Mozambique, Minister François Bausch confirmed that Luxembourg will continue to provide satellite communication capabilities within the framework of the European Union military training mission (EUTM Mozambique). Regarding the Sahel region, the two ministers expressed concern regarding the deterioration of the security situation, especially in Mali.
To conclude the interview, François Bausch invited his counterpart from Portugal to pay a working visit to Luxembourg: “Many Portuguese are today in service in the Luxembourg Army. They represent an irreplaceable part of the troops. why a visit from you here in Luxembourg would make me particularly happy.”
Communicated by the Directorate of Defense
