The five-day training exercise from the 21^st to 25^th August, 2017 is taking place at the Ecole de Maintien de la Paix Alioune Blondin BEYE (EMP), Bamako, Mali and will serve to equip evaluators of the CPX with the necessary skills for its evaluation.

During the opening session of the training, Navy Captain Ousmane Traore who represented the ECOWAS Commissioner for Political Affairs, Peace and Security, Mrs. Halima Ahmed, emphasized the importance of the evaluation training as it will improve the rapid deployment capacity of the ESF in order to maintain peace and security in the region.

Also speaking, Lieutenant-Colonel Francois Fonteclounon representing the ECOWAS Director of Peace-Keeping and Regional Security, stated that due to the different security challenges being experienced in the region, it is imperative to have an efficient standby force that can be deployed rapidly to combat them.

‘A comprehensive evaluation of the exercise and an After Action Review (AAR), will enable the ESF take into account the gaps and areas of importance which can be improved upon in Peace Support Operations’, he said.

The Deputy Director of Studies of the EMP, Colonel Issa Coulibaly, in his welcome remarks to the Malian Training Centre of Excellence, urged participants to maximize the opportunity to build their capacity and contribute meaningfully to the CPX.

Participants are expected by the end of training to develop an evaluation plan for the CPX and have a clear understanding of the techniques required for the evaluation.

The training is being attended by members of the ESF, ECOWAS Training Centres of Excellence and representatives of Members States and the International Committee of the Red Cross.