Vice Admiral Matthieu Borsboom paid a visit to South America for, among other things, a three-day meeting with his Brazilian counterpart, Admiral Julio Soares Moura Neto.
This ‘navy-to-navy’ visit, now completed, was characterised by the friendly relations and mutual cooperation between the 2 navies.
Talks were held with the Brazilians regarding more cooperation in the area of counterpiracy and counternarcotics operations in the region and regarding further exchange in training activities. For example, recently a Brazilian navy officer took part in the Dutch training course for submarine commanders.
The invitation to Vice Admiral Borsboom to visit Brazil was a long-standing one. The reason for taking up the invitation at this time was Minister of Defence Hillen’s signing of a Defence cooperation treaty with Brazil, signed last December. This framework agreement is an important precondition for Dutch navy shipbuilders competing for new-build projects in the Brazilian navy. The treaty also opens up possibilities for the Netherlands Royal Navy to lend support to the Brazilian Navy. In Rio de Janeiro, Borsboom visited the Operations Centre of the Brazilian Navy, Submarine Service and Marine Corps. He also visited the Riverine Operations Centre in Manaus, located in the delta of the Amazon river in the north of the country. This centre specialises in maritime operations in river deltas.
[mappress] Naval Today Staff , June 28, 2012; Image: Dutch MoD