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Arrived in the Central African Republic (CAR) on July 9, 2022, the new Deputy Force Commander of MINUSCA, Major General Pedro Miguel Alves Gonçalves Soares, of Portuguese nationality, immediately took office. He succeeds the Major General Paulo Emanuel Maia Pereira (also from Portugal), who completed his mission on April 30, 2022. After a welcome, which he finds “extremely friendly and organized by professionals”, he considers that the opportunity to have met, very quickly, the leadership of the mission, has enabled him to “immediately have a global vision” and facilitated his integration as Deputy Force Commander. For him, the objective of his mission is clear. He is in the CAR to “support the Force Commander who directs all Forces to conduct operations in accordance with established rules of engagement and in order to fulfill the UN mandate for the CAR”. He nevertheless intends to add value with his experience and contribute to the preservation of the troops as well as to the freedom and security of the Central African people. Indeed, the Portuguese general was born in Catumbela, Angola, and has, during his career, acquired a great deal of experience. He has completed Army General Staff, Commando, Long Range Reconnaissance Patrol, US Army Ranger and Airborne courses. Throughout his career, he served in several units, departments and structures of the Portuguese Army and the General Staff of the Portuguese Armed Forces, always alternating between operational units and assignments to structures or management superior of the army. Recently, he served at the NATO ACO Headquarters – SHAPE, in Mons (Belgium), in the area of ​​operations, and was the commander of the Portuguese rapid reaction brigade. He has made five operational deployments, to Mozambique and Angola to train commandos and Special Forces, to East Timor as part of a UN peacekeeping mission and twice to Afghanistan. He hopes to support the MINUSCA Force Hierarchy to always decide in the most informed manner and help ensure that all Forces operate under strict adherence to the UN mandate. Major General Pedro Miguel Alves Gonçalves Soares wants “to have the opportunity to get to know the Central African culture better, ensure the safety of the population and simultaneously contribute to consolidating the exceptional image of the blue helmets. Source: MINUSCA

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