However I need to say, there’s something very acquainted and even nostalgic to me about this distinctive archipelago—Cabo Verde has a lot in widespread, traditionally and culturally, with Caribbean islands comparable to my native land, Cuba.
And in reality, my ancestry might be traced again from Cuba to Toro, Spain, as you would possibly guess from my title, with stops within the Canary Islands and Cadiz.
You would possibly say that I’m starting to expertise a little bit of “saudade” myself.
It’s a pleasure to find the sights, sounds, delicacies, and music of Cabo Verde, and I solely want I had extra time to discover these lovely islands, and to study extra concerning the folks of Cabo Verde.
At the beginning, I want to thank Prime Minister de Pina Correia e Silva for co-hosting this historic summit with the US.
Our two nations have loved a robust relationship for many years; and as an island nation, you perceive and expertise most of the points we are going to talk about throughout our time collectively.
The African Maritime Forces Summit is the primary occasion of its form, involving the senior-most maritime management not solely from throughout the African continent but additionally from North America, South America, and Europe.
Seeing what number of international locations are represented at this summit is a testomony to every of those international locations’ willingness to work collectively in the direction of widespread objectives.
We’re all stronger collectively, and this gathering is a optimistic step in the direction of enhanced cooperation.
Vice Admiral Awwal Gambo, Chief of Naval Workers of the Nigerian Navy, talking on the closing ceremony of Obangame Categorical 2023 in Lagos final month, put it fantastically: “Coming collectively is a starting, staying collectively is progress, and dealing collectively is success.”
We’ve come collectively right here for the primary time, marking a brand new starting. And the US Navy and Marine Corps are right here to keep with you, and to work with you.
As President Biden mentioned in the course of the African Leaders Symposium in Washington, DC, this previous December, the US is all-in on Africa and all-in with Africa.
That’s the reason the US presence at this summit contains senior leaders not solely from the Division of the Navy and Coast Guard, but additionally from the Division of State and USAID.
It takes all of us working collectively to sort out the varieties of challenges we’re right here to debate.
And because the Kenyan proverb goes, “having an excellent dialogue is like having riches.”
Collectively, in such a ambiance, we construct an setting anchored in belief and mutual respect.
And respect on a country-to-country stage begins with the idea of nationwide sovereignty.
As Vice President Harris has made clear, America stands for “respect for sovereignty and worldwide integrity, unimpeded lawful commerce, the peaceable decision of disputes, and freedom of navigation.”
With a view to defend freedom of the ocean, we work to make sure our Sailors and Marines have the potential and ahead presence to face by our allies and our companions.
That may be a purpose why I’m right here right this moment, talking to you, our allies and companions, to substantiate that the US is dedicated to a rules-based worldwide order, particularly within the maritime area.
We respect your sovereignty, we respect your borders, we respect your unique financial zones, we respect your folks, and we invite each nation world wide to do the identical.
Much more vital than talking to you, nonetheless, is listening to you. I’m right here to fulfill you, to speak to you, and to take heed to you. I need to study what the world seems to be like by your eyes.
And I need to know what we will do to strengthen our bonds with you.
Worldwide partnerships are certainly on the very prime of my checklist of priorities because the Secretary of the Navy—as a result of the U.S. Navy and U.S. Marine Corps depend upon allies and companions world wide to take care of free and open sea lanes, the place commerce and commerce can flourish, which is to all nations’ benefit.
Our partnerships in Africa are of mutual profit and we search each alternative to strengthen them, whether or not at-sea or ashore. When like-minded companions come collectively to develop African-led options to our widespread challenges, the outcome will inevitably be elevated financial prosperity and larger international safety.
As I mentioned, that is my first go to to Africa, however thankfully I’ve had the pleasure of assembly with a few of you already.
I had the chance to have interaction with Equatorial Guinea’s Head of Navy, Colonel Esono Nchama, and Rear Admiral Adel Jehane, Head of the Tunisian Navy, in the course of the 2021 Worldwide Seapower Symposium, the place naval leaders from across the globe come collectively to debate widespread maritime challenges in addition to alternatives to reinforce safety cooperation.
And final September, I met Rear Admiral Mendoua, Head of the Navy of Cameroon, in the course of the UNITAS 63 Train in Brazil, which was the primary such train to incorporate maritime forces from African nations.
Sailors from each Cameroon and Namibia crossed the Atlantic Ocean to hitch eighteen different nations within the two-week lengthy train—I need to as soon as once more specific my congratulations to those two nations for this historic first.
I plan to fulfill many extra of you, my counterparts, within the subsequent day or two, and I sit up for sharing a meal or perhaps a sip of Grogue collectively.
Throughout this summit, and so long as I’m Secretary of the Navy, I intend to strengthen {our relationships} with like-minded maritime nations, and to deepen interoperability with them in an effort to allow mutual motion to deal with shared challenges, together with:
- maritime piracy—a major problem that poses an actual menace not solely to the security of vessels and their crews, but additionally to the economies of affected international locations;
- unlawful, unreported, and unregulated fishing—an estimated $9.4 billion are misplaced to IUU fishing yearly in West Africa alone;
- and the consequences of local weather change—which we’re seeing all too typically, and most lately with the tragic aftermath of Cyclone Freddy in Mozambique and Malawi…
America is dedicated to transparency and inclusion when working with our companions to attain our collective and customary objectives of safety and stability throughout the continent.
We’re grateful to our indispensable African companions current right here, in addition to to Brazil, France, Spain, Portugal, Italy, and the UK, for his or her continued dedication to addressing regional safety challenges, and we welcome all nations’ contributions to the worldwide points all of us face.
I’m particularly grateful to Nigeria for internet hosting this 12 months’s Train Obangame Categorical 2023.
Obangame Categorical began 12 years in the past as a communications train with a small variety of at-sea coaching alternatives.
Right now, it has grown into the biggest multinational maritime train in Western and Central Africa…
And, this 12 months, 29 nations participated, 21 of that are current at this summit.
I’m very happy with the laborious work of our American Sailors and Marines, and I’m additionally tremendously impressed by all that you just, our companions, have completed, to incorporate exchanging ship-boarding strategies, demonstrating correct assortment and reporting of proof, and rather more.
On the opposite facet of the continent, within the Indian Ocean, Train Cutlass Categorical 2023 simply concluded earlier this month, with 15 nations taking part, together with Comoros, Djibouti, France, Kenya, Madagascar, Mauritius, Mozambique, Tanzania, and the UK.
This regional train supplied collaborative alternatives for taking part nations to deal with shared transnational maritime considerations by elevated maritime consciousness, response capabilities, and infrastructure.
And within the subsequent few months, Train Phoenix Categorical 2023 will start within the Mediterranean, with a number of of our North African companion nations right here current.
Final 12 months’s Phoenix Categorical, the 17th such train, was hosted on the La Goulette Naval Base in Tunis, and included a preparatory in-port part in addition to 5 days of maritime safety coaching within the Mediterranean Sea.
The at-sea portion of the train helped enhance the taking part nations’ skills to reply to irregular migration and to fight illicit trafficking and the motion of unlawful items and supplies.
These three annual maritime workout routines are extraordinarily vital to our Navy and Marine Corps group, and they’re extraordinarily vital to me.
It’s by most of these actions that we share greatest practices, study one another, and hone our abilities.
And maybe most significantly, the conduct of those workout routines serves as a extremely seen deterrent to those that search to violate your unique financial zones and undermine our rules-based world order.
As I mentioned earlier, all nations profit from free and open entry to the maritime area. The waters across the African continent are residence to many important international transport lanes, and the coastal waters of Africa comprise among the world’s richest fishing grounds.
Sustaining safety and freedom of motion inside your unique financial zones and territorial waters is certainly a international greatest curiosity—and one of many roles of the U.S. sea providers is to help our companions in fostering a united, international effort to safeguard this entry.
Collectively, we will stop intrusions of legal parts—who take away your “blue” financial sources and thrive at your expense—and avert business transport disruptions.
When African maritime economies thrive, when unique financial zones are revered and freedom of the ocean is secured, the worldwide financial system additionally thrives.
I cannot fake that securing the maritime area is a simple activity, however by working collectively we will accomplish rather more than every of us might on our personal.
The entire is really larger than the sum of its components.
All of us share widespread challenges—and as soon as we expect we’ve resolved one problem, a brand new one can pop up.
A few of these challenges might be resolved by sharing maritime info. For instance, the “SeaVision” device, which allows customers to view and share maritime info, can go a great distance in bettering operational effectivity and interoperability amongst us.
A few of you lately used SeaVision throughout Train Cutlass Categorical—and I hope to listen to suggestions in your experiences with it.
Interoperability allows us to share duty and to collectively reply to safety challenges and threats by talking the identical operational language.
We are able to additionally construct interoperability with one another by navy personnel exchanges, which I strongly help.
In truth, I can let you know first-hand how beneficial personnel exchanges might be.
About 40 years in the past, once I was a younger midshipman, I used to be fortunate sufficient to take part in an change with the Spanish Royal Navy, throughout which we sailed to the Canary Islands.
It was a formative expertise for me, one which I’ll always remember…
And talking of experiences, seeing USS Bulkeley right here within the Sal port has definitely introduced again many reminiscences for me…
You see, I had the respect of being the primary commanding officer of USS Bulkeley, over 20 years in the past.
I bear in mind crusing out of New York harbor shortly after the terrorist assaults on September 11, 2001… A time when so many countries world wide expressed their solidarity with the folks of the US.
We’ve not forgotten your friendship.
I might love to listen to about your experiences, main your sailors, or being sailors yourselves—and I do know we’ve a lot to share, as a result of we’ve a lot in widespread.
As safety companions, we share a imaginative and prescient of a extra peaceable and affluent world, a world by which all our youngsters have an opportunity to reside free and to pursue their desires.
As leaders, we share most of the duties that include our roles in our respective nations, and we share the burden of duty of caring for the women and men beneath our cost.
And as sailors, we share a love of the ocean.
There is no such thing as a one who has captured each the attract of the ocean and the loneliness of being away from your own home extra completely than the inimitable Cesária Évora:
Oh Sea
Years cross by, and time flies
The solar comes up and the moon leaves the sky
And I’m nonetheless away from my land
Oh Sea
I need to as soon as extra thanks all for being right here this week.
I’m very grateful for the chance to talk to you, and to be right here with you in Cabo Verde.
I sit up for assembly with lots of you and having sincere discussions on the challenges you face in combating maritime safety threats within the waters surrounding Africa.
And I need to know the way we will greatest help you.
Muito obrigado!
