Portugal with 1,335 military personnel on missions in the second half of 2024

The Portuguese Armed Forces participated with 1,335 military personnel in international missions in the second half of 2024, more than half within the scope of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and with a strong presence in Eastern Europe.

This data is contained in a report prepared by the Directorate-General for National Defense Policy, to which the Lusa news agency had access, and which will be debated this afternoon in the parliamentary Defense Committee.

According to this document, 1,335 personnel were deployed in the second half of last year: 722 military personnel (54.1%) in the scope of missions of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), 247 (18.5%) in the United Nations (UN), 112 (8.4%) in missions of the European Union.

In addition to these, 126 military personnel (9.4%) were deployed in the bilateral and multilateral framework, 39 (2.9%) in FRONTEX and 89 military advisors participated in these missions.

The report highlights the month of July, during which Portugal participated in 26 missions and simultaneously deployed 1,074 troops, the highest number for the entire year.

According to a chart that tracks the total number of personnel from the National Deployed Forces and FRONTEX Agency deployed monthly, the year began with 598 Portuguese military personnel on international missions, a number that gradually increased to 1,072 in April, 1,066 in May, 965 in June, and 1,074 in July, the highest number of the year. The trend then declined to 740 in December.

The participation of women in international missions has always remained below 100 per month, with the highest number (91) occurring in July and November.

Regarding geographical areas, 35.5% was found in the Central and Eastern Europe region, 34.1% in Africa (central region and Eastern Coast), 16.2% in the North Sea and Baltic Sea, 7.6% in the Gulf of Guinea and West African Coast, 6.1% in the Mediterranean and 0.5% in the Asia and South America region.

“In the second half of 2024, Portugal maintained a significant presence in missions and National Forces Deployed in the multilateral (UN, EU and NATO) and bilateral context, with special attention to the Southern Flank (Central and Sub-Saharan Africa, Gulf of Guinea and PALOP), Eastern Flank (Romania and Lithuania) and the Atlantic, Baltic and Mediterranean, committing naval, land and air assets, in accordance with the national defense political guidelines defined above,” the text reads.

The conclusions of the 2023 NATO summit in Vilnius, Lithuania, “the operational situation arising from the War in Ukraine” and “the volatility of the security situation in Africa” were also taken into account.

Despite the geopolitical tensions that have led several European countries to strengthen their presence in Eastern Europe, the report highlights that Portugal continues to invest in Africa, the South Atlantic and the Indian Ocean (Gulf of Guinea – Central African Republic – Mozambique – Somalia).

In the case of the Central African Republic, where Portugal has been present since 2016 and currently has around 240 soldiers, according to the official website of the General Staff of the Armed Forces (EMGFA), Portuguese participation has contributed “in a very committed way to the stabilization of the country”.

"This reality, combined with the experience gained during the ongoing commitment to the mission, has allowed Portugal to gain in-depth knowledge of the Central African reality, its particularities, and the factors that influence the mission's performance. The experience on the ground has also allowed Portugal to apply the lessons learned (useful for guiding future projections in the country and the region), making it important to take advantage of the leverage Portugal has achieved in this region," the text reads.