A look at the Defence news 25 September - 1 October
Minister of Defence Ollongren: “Create the right conditions to further prevent civilian harm in warfare”
“Protecting civilians from harm should also have the highest priority in future warfare. These developments require clear agreements.” Netherlands Minister of Defence Kajsa Ollongren advocated this during her visit to New York, where she spoke at Columbia University.
MQ-9 Reaper to operate 6 months longer from Curaçao
The MQ-9 Reaper unmanned reconnaissance aircraft will once again stay about 6 months longer in Curaçao. The aircraft collects data and other information from the air. In this way, the Netherlands Defence Organisation supports military organisations in the Caribbean, among other things to combat organised crime. The deployment of the MQ-9 Reaper was scheduled to end last week.
Netherlands and Columbia strengthen maritime ties in Caribbean
The Netherlands and Columbia will start working closer together for security in the Caribbean. This cooperation will include combating cross-border crime, such as drug trafficking. The Ministry of Defence released this news last week.
Netherlands to provide helicopters and force commander for NATO mission in Iraq
The Netherlands is to increase its contribution to the NATO mission in Iraq (NMI). This concerns a force commander with a staff capacity of around 15 military personnel who will be leading and coordinating the deployment of various NATO allies and partners. In addition, the Netherlands will send a detachment of about 120 military personnel with 3 Chinook transport helicopters to Iraq.