Admiral Munsch is simultaneously the commander of the NATO Allied Joint Forces Command, Naples. Cabo Verde is where the NATO Response Force was launched in 2006. See videos below.

====

U.S. Naval Forces Europe and Africa/U.S. Sixth Fleet
March 21, 2023

NAVAF hosts first African Maritime Forces Summit in Cabo Verde

Commander of U.S. Naval Forces Europe and Africa (NAVEUR-NAVAF) Adm. Stuart B. Munsch is hosting more than 80 delegates, including the U.S. Secretary of the Navy, the Commandant of the U.S. Coast Guard, and international heads of navies, coast guards, and naval infantries from 38 nations, for the inaugural African Maritime Forces Summit (AMFS) in Sal Island, Cabo Verde, March 20-22, 2023.

***

AMFS is a strategic-level forum that brings maritime and naval infantry leaders together to address transnational maritime security challenges within African waters including the Atlantic Ocean, Indian Ocean, and Mediterranean Sea. AMFS is a new model for African senior leadership engagement, which combines the three senior leadership symposiums traditionally held during NAVAF’s annual regional express-series exercises into a single continent-wide event.

…Delegates will also visit the Arleigh Burke guided-missile destroyer USS Bulkeley (DDG 84) to observe shipboard firefighting demonstrations, joint U.S. Coast Guard and Cabo Verdean boarding drills, and simulated bomb-disposal robotics conducted by U.S. Marines.

Hosted in Sal Island, AMFS also builds off of the strong bilateral relationship between Cabo Verde and the United States. In December 2022, the two countries signed a memorandum of understanding for defense cooperation….

***

AMFS participating nations include Angola, Benin, Brazil, Cabo Verde, Cameroon, Comoros, Cote d’Ivoire, Democratic Republic of Congo, Djibouti, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, France, Gabon, Ghana, Guinea Bissau, Italy, Kenya, Liberia, Libya, Madagascar, Mauritania, Morocco, Mozambique, Nigeria, Portugal, Republic of Congo, Sao Tome and Principe, Senegal, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Spain, Tanzania, The Gambia, Togo, Tunisia, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Participants include heads of navy, coast guards, and naval infantries from four continents including Africa, Europe, North America, and South America.