STUTTGART, Germany - The Deputy Director General of the EU Military Staff (EUMS), Rear Adm. Waldemar Gluszko, visited U.S. Africa Command on Nov. 10.
Organized by AFRICOM’s Multi-National Cooperation Center, the visit was intended to familiarize Gluszko and other EUMS staff with the command’s mission and engagement with partner nations in Africa.
Gluszko said that the EU is currently conducting seventeen missions, the majority of which are in Africa.
“We share several areas of interest” he said. “The coordination of efforts is important for the efficiency of operations.”
Noting that in some cases, AFRICOM and EU efforts are complimentary, Gluszko said, “We have different tools to conduct our missions and this is a benefit toward achieving the goals we have established.”
AFRICOM, which is dedicated to building a stronger partnership with the EUMS, invited Adm. Gluszko to AFRICOM’s headquarters in Stuttgart as a follow on to the first meeting where Rear Adm. Kevin Kovacich, AFRICOM’s director of Strategy, Plans, and Programs, (J5), visited the EU in Brussels last April.
“Stuttgart and Brussels are not very far from each other,” Gluszko said. “They are like two rooms next to each other but there is a need to familiarize ourselves with each other’s mission, people, and priorities. This is the reason we are here.”
Gluszko said that the relationship with AFRICOM will continue.
“This is not the end of our contacts, this is progress,” he said. “It is for the benefit for both EUMS and AFRICOM.”