05. Feb.24.- A mobile training team (Mobile Training Team/MTT), made up of five military trainers from the Engineer Battalion of the Spanish Army's XVI ‘Canarias’ Brigade, is giving a course on Countering Improvised Explosive Devices (C-IEDs) in Porto Novo, the capital of Benin.

This is the second course that Spain has given in this African country, as part of the EU Security and Defence Initiative in support of West African countries of the Gulf of Guinea (EU SDI GoG). The first of these, also with military trainers from the ‘Canarias’ XVI Brigade, was the Basic Optical and Atomic Material Maintenance Course, which took place in October 2024.

On this occasion, the C-IED course lasts two weeks and began on 27 January. It is being given to 15 members of the Benin Republican Police, who will thus acquire better training to fight against any threat, and especially against jihadist terrorism that threatens the north of the country.

EUSDI GoG

The Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP) Decision 2023/1599 established the EUSDI GoG, whose primary objective is to enhance the training of the security and defence forces of Côte d'Ivoire, Ghana, Togo and Benin to enable them to autonomously improve the stability and resilience of their northern border areas, especially in the face of the threat of jihadist terrorism. In this context, in June 2024, Benin asked the EU for a series of support for the benefit of its Armed Forces.

The Gulf of Guinea is a priority area of interest for the European Union, and especially for Spain, which shares an agenda with other European countries such as France, Belgium and Portugal. By participating in this initiative, Spain is demonstrating its commitment to the stability, security and development of this African region.