17/05/2018
The Prime Minister inaugurates the Special Forces Training Ground (SFTG) in Logroño, where experts are trained as part of the European Union-funded project
Visit by Mariano Rajoy to Logroño SFTG
During his visit, the Prime Minister was able to learn first-hand about the training of the Senegalese and Nigerian gendarmes who are currently in the centre.
To date, activities have been carried out in Mauritania, Mali and Burkina Faso as part of the GAR-SI Sahel project. In addition, Mauritanian officers and non-commissioned officers have received training at the Special Forces Training Ground (SFTG) in Logroño, they will subsequently train the 130 gendarmes that form the GAR-SI unit in their country. Senegalese and Nigerian experts are currently taking the training course for officers and trainers at the SFTG.
The aim of these training courses is to enable units from the RAGs (rapid action groups) to be set up in each of the countries. The gendarmes will be given the training, resources and skills they need to be able to set up operationally.
The GAR-SI Sahel project will make it possible to guarantee security and stability in the G5 Sahel countries and Senegal, improve their operational capabilities, strengthen effective territorial control and extend the rule of law, said the project leader General Francisco Espinosa.
The Prime Minister was accompanied during the inauguration by the Minister of the Interior, the General Director of the Civil Guard, the Government delegate in La Rioja and the Lieutenant General in charge of Operations, among other civil and military authorities.
The GAR-SI SAHEL project was approved by the Executive Committee of the European Union Trust Fund in June 2016. It is a European project led by Spain, which also involves France, Italy and Portugal. The project is being implemented in the G5 Sahel countries (Mauritania, Mali, Niger, Burkina Faso and Chad) and in Senegal.
The diagnostic phase has now been concluded in the project’s six beneficiary countries and the action plans have been presented describing the needs of each country.
The 9 million euro European Union-funded project is led by FIIAPP with the Spanish Civil Guard, the French Gendarmerie, Italian Carabinieri and Portuguese National Republican Guard also participating.
