Four Maltese soldiers are expected to join the EU training mission in Uganda, in which Malta has been involved for the past 18 months.

The mission is aimed to develop the Somali Security Forces, to provide the Transitional Federal Government with a professional security force to help the government’s efforts for stability in the country, and was mandated by the EU Council in January 2010.

There are currently another six Maltese soldiers in Uganda. They are working alongside Irish colleagues in Bihanga Camp and are responsible for training non-commissioned Somali officers. To date, over 2,000 Somali soldiers have been trained, with another 2,000 expected to be trained over the next year.

Meanwhile, the Armed Forces of Malta envisages that this year at least 62 of its members will be taking part in crisis management operations in Georgia, the Gulf of Aden, Italy, Greece, Lebanon, the UK and Uganda.

After three Maltese instructors were deployed for six months in April last year, this January a team of infantry trainers from 1 Regiment was deployed.

Malta’s involvement with Somalia, the AFM said, was mostly motivated by the influx of migrants from the region to Malta and because of the island’s dependency on trade routes, which were badly affected by the piracy in the region. Somalia’s piracy alone is estimated to cost €13 billion in global trade yearly.