- Operation ATALANTA Commander, Vice Admiral Ignacio Villanueva Serrano, attended the EU-Somalia Political Dialogue, between EU Member States Ambassadors, EU Ambassador, the Heads of Mission and H.E. Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, President of the Federal Republic of Somalia.
- H.E. Salah Ahmed Jama, Deputy Prime Minister of the Federal Republic of Somalia, visited the ATALANTA frigate ESPS Reina Sofia to discuss about maritime security and learn about the training conducted to the Somali Police Force - Department of Coast Guard.
From 21 to 24 April, Operation ATALANTA Operation Commander Vice Admiral Ignacio Villanueva Serrano visited Somalia. He attended the EU-Somalia Political Dialogue, an opportunity to review the priorities under the EU-Somalia Joint Operational Roadmap launched in 2023.
Vice Admiral Villanueva participated in different meetings between EU and Somalia focusing on piracy, arms embargo, information sharing and Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) fishing and to discuss the EU-Somalia activities with H.E. Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, President of the Federal Republic of Somalia.
Other meetings were held to address the current collaboration with the other EU missions on the ground, EUTM and EUCAP Somalia.
Activities on board ESPS Reina Sofia
On 24 April, with the presence of Operation ATALANTA Commander Vice Admiral Ignacio Villanueva Serrano, the frigate ESPS Reina Sofia received on board H.E. Salah Ahmed Jama, Deputy Prime Minister of the Federal Republic of Somalia, off the coast of Somalia. The event was also attended by H.E. Karin Johansson, the European Union Ambassador to the Federal Republic of Somalia.
During the visit, they were briefed on the ship's capabilities and the work of Operation ATALANTA with Somalia fighting piracy and illicit fishing activities.
The visit was an opportunity to strengthen the cooperation in maritime security between Somalia and the EU, and to observe the training provided to the Somali Police Force - Department of Coast Guard with the coordination of EUCAP Somalia. Additionally, CRIMARIO II supported the Safety at Sea coordination exercise via the IORIS platform.
Operation ATALANTA’s sister missions EUTM Somalia and EUCAP Somalia, the Swedish Ambassador to Somalia, as well as various authorities from European Union to Somalia also visited the frigate during the event.
