EUTM Somalia welcomed Lieutenant General Michiel van der LAAN, Director General of the European Union Military Staff and Director of the Military Planning and Conduct Capability (MPCC), to the Mission Headquarters in Mogadishu.
Lieutenant General van der LAAN was received by the Mission Force Commander, Brigadier General Elio MANES, together with the incoming Mission Force Commander, Brigadier General FALASCA. During the visit, he engaged with Mission personnel and gained first-hand insight into EUTM Somaliaโs ongoing activities in support of Somaliaโs security and defence institutions.
The Director MPCC also held a series of high-level institutional meetings with the U.S. Chargรฉ dโAffaires, the Ambassador of Italy to Somalia, the Somali Chief of Defence Forces, the European Union Ambassador to Somalia and representatives of the African Union Support and Stabilisation Mission in Somalia (AUSSOM). These engagements provided an opportunity to exchange views on security cooperation, regional challenges and continued international support to Somaliaโs security and defence sector.
As the EUโs permanent command and control structure at the military-strategic level, responsible for the operational planning and conduct of EU non-executive military missions, the MPCC plays a key role in ensuring strategic direction and coherence. The visit further strengthened the link between EUTM Somalia and the European Unionโs military strategic structures.
