SOUTHERN AFRICA NAVIES SET TO CONFRONT PIRACY

Senior naval officers from member states of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) on met last week in Maputo (Mozambique) for three days to discuss the fight against maritime piracy. Chief of General Staff of the Mozambican Armed Forces (FADM), Paulo Macarringue, in his address at the opening ceremony said that the relevance of the meeting becomes evident if one takes into account the threat that piracy poses to maritime security.

Macarringue called for closer co-operation between SADC Navies to give greater vigour to efforts to tackle the piracy scourge in the region. It is known that maintaining a navy that can meet the threats to maritime security requires huge financial resources that are beyond the capacity or our economies"he said.

For Macarringue, the meeting constitutes an important forum for reflection, and looking at ways to develop a common strategy. He considered cooperation over maritime security a priority and an instrument to mitigate the economic weaknesses of the region's states.
Joint exercises were held by the nine SADC navies in Maputo parallel to the meeting.