Mali

Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs written question – answered am ar 17 Gorffennaf 2013.

Danfonwch hysbysiad imi am ddadleuon fel hyn

Photo of Stephen Phillips Stephen Phillips Ceidwadwyr, Sleaford and North Hykeham

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent assessment he has made of the efficacy of European Union Training Mission Mali.

Photo of Andrew Robathan Andrew Robathan The Minister of State, Ministry of Defence

I have been asked to reply on behalf of the Department for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs.

The Ministry of Defence (MOD) receives weekly reports from the Mission Commander and UK personnel within the European Union Training Mission (EUTM) Mali. Through these means, the MOD is able to monitor the efficacy of the mission against the agreed political objectives set out in the mission's Crisis Management Concept.

To date, the EUTM Mali has trained the first of four battalions specified in the mission mandate. This first battalion consisted of approximately 650 personnel and completed its training in early June.

Currently, around 700 soldiers of the second battalion to be trained are in the process of reporting to the training camp.

Our current assessment is that the mission is delivering against its objectives. However, it is too early to assess the effectiveness of the trained troops on operations as they have only recently deployed forward.

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