EASF participates in the 2018 Cutlass Express Symposium

A three-day Senior Leadership Symposium (SLS) which is part of Cutlass Express 2018 started on 4th February at the Eden Blue Hotel, in Mahé, Seychelles. The Symposium, sponsored by the US Africa Command and facilitated by the U.S. Naval War College, ends on Tuesday 6th February 2018.

The EASF Team at the Symposium is lead by the Director, Dr Abdillahi Omar Bouh, accompanied by the Head of the Maritime Cell, Colonel Saeed Khamees Saeed and Maritime Technical Advisor to EASF, Cdr (SG) Lars Ivar Fjell. The symposium aims at promoting the development of national maritime strategies and operational concepts including capabilities to operationalize these national maritime strategies.

Cutlass Express 2018, which is the seventh iteration of the annual multinational maritime exercise, is designed to assess and improve combined maritime law enforcement capacity and promote national and regional security in East Africa, also informing planning and operations at the same time.

Cutlass Express aims to build partner nations’ capability to deter illicit activity of all types, including piracy, trafficking of persons, drugs and weapons, and illegal fishing. The security aspect alone is reason enough to hold this exercise. But it is important to note the economic aspect as well.  Ensuring security, safety, and freedom of navigation in the waters surrounding Africa is critical to Africa’s prosperity and its access to global markets. The efforts during this exercise will directly contribute to making the region a safer place for maritime commerce and increasing prosperity throughout the region. A key goal of Cutlass Express is to develop lasting relationships in the region. This exercise enables people from different countries to get to know each other, trust each other, help each other, and learn from each other about how to work together effectively to achieve success. These strong relationships lead directly to better partnerships that strengthen regional cooperation and security.

Participating nations at the Symposium include Canada, Comoros, Djibouti, Egypt, Kenya, Madagascar, Mauritius, Mozambique, Norway, Seychelles, Somalia, South Africa, Spain, United Kingdom and the United States.

Photo Gallery: EASF in Cutlass 2018's SLS in Seychelles