"Coordination between international organisations is reflected in missions such as in Gabon", says María Dolores de Cospedal

The minister highlighted how the Spanish contingent works in a coordinated fashion to provide a service in the region to the United Nations, the European Union and France, and pointed out that "Europe must realise that Africa is very important".

"We are under an obligation to monitor and help a continent move forward", and recover stability, she added, before underlining that these countries suffer from many threats and, for that reason, an international presence is necessary.

María Dolores de Cospedal, on her second visit to the Spanish servicemen deployed in Gabon, highlighted that the 200 servicemen that have taken part in the different rotations to date have notched up almost 4,000 flights hours and transported more than 11,500 passengers and more than 2,100 tonnes of cargo. "The efficacy and efficiency of the Spanish Armed Forces is greater than that of others and they are providing a very high level of service", she remarked.

For this reason, the Minister for Defence congratulated the detachment and conveyed to them the "gratitude and recognition" of the Spanish people. "It is important that our people know what the men and women of the Armed Forces are doing so far from home because they are working towards achieving stability" in a region such as Africa where security and development affect the continent of Europe.

Spanish participation in Gabon

The Spanish contingent in Gabon is comprised of the 'Mamba' detachment which, since 17 March 2014, has been deployed at the facilities at the French 'Guy Pidoux' base, close to the capital of Libreville.

The mission of the 'Mamba' detachment is to support the air transportation of the missions of the United Nations, the European Union and the French Armed Forces that are deployed in the field of operations. At present, 45 Air Force servicemen, under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Miguel Puch Botella, 45 make up the 16th rotation of the contingent in Libreville.

The resolution adopted by the Council of Ministers on 13 December 2013 approved the deployment of Spanish military units in support of the United Nations Integrated Stabilisation Mission in the Central African Republic - approved by Resolution 2127 of the Security Council - to bring an end to the crisis in the Central African Republic. Spanish participation consists of a 'Hercules' aircraft and up to a maximum of up to 60 servicemen.

On 7 October 2014, the Air Force replaced the 'Hercules' of the 'Mamba' detachment with a 'C-295' aircraft, which contributed to the deployment and maintenance of the forces in inland areas of the Central African Republic.

The logistics demands of operations in West Africa, together with the lack of air transport resources in the region, provide great value to Spanish participation in the region. Hence, flights by the 'C-295' aircraft of the 'Mamba' detachment, together with those of the 'Hercules' aircraft of the 'Marfil' detachment deployed in Senegal, constitute 30% of the total air activity of Operation 'Barkhane', headed up by France.

Non official translation