Russia Intends to Train And Equip Angolan Border Police

20 May 2011

Luanda — The Russian authorities have drafted a project that aims at training staff and equipping with technical means the Angolan border police, as a response to a request by he Angolan executive that intends to stop illegal immigration into the country.

This was revealed on Friday by the Russian ambassador to Angola, Serguey Nenachev, in an interview to ANGOP, in which he described several bilateral initiatives that could be implemented to gradually re-establish the level of co-operation that existed before the collapse of the Soviet Union.

According to Serguey Nenachev, in view of the request made by the Angolan authorities, his country’s government drafted a plan to prepare cadres, supply and install technical infrastructures for the protection of Angolan borders.

“The plan has been drafted, and now we wait for the Angolan authorities to let us know whether it will do or whether it needs some sort of change” stressed the Russian diplomat.

The project, he explained, has been prepared in co-operation with Angolan experts from the Ministry of the Interior and, if it is approved, should be implemented in five years.

In October 2010, the Angolan minister of the Interior, Sebastião Martins, denounced the existence of criminal networks operating from abroad that facilitate the illegal entrance of foreign citizens in Angola.

On the same occasion, Sebastião Martins revealed that Angola was spending about USD 10 million every year in actions relating to illegal immigration, such as with feeding, providing shelter and transporting the illegal citizens.

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