Saturday, January 08, 2022
150 soldiers stationed
Lambrecht visits troop in Jordan
Germany is still taking part in the fight against so-called IS. Defense Minister Lambrecht will be visiting Jordan for the first time in the new year and the soldiers stationed there.
Federal Defense Minister Christine Lambrecht visited an air force base in Jordan on her first trip abroad in the new year. In Al-Asrak, the Bundeswehr is supporting the anti-IS coalition by refueling in the air. The Ministry of Defense announced that Lambrecht received first-hand information on site. For the minister, the focus was also on a “personal exchange and open conversation with the soldiers.”
Lambrecht got an idea of the focus of the “Counter Daesh” operation at the Al-Asrak air force base, the ministry said. Around 150 German soldiers are deployed there. The Department of Defense published a Video on Twitter, which shows Lambrecht boarding an A400M military aircraft. The A400M has flown more than 640 refueling missions since September 2019.
“Anchors of stability in the region”
The US-led international anti-IS coalition was formed to combat the jihadist militia Islamic State (IS). In 2014, IS had conquered parts of the Jordanian neighbors Iraq and Syria. After the military victory over the so-called caliphate established by IS in 2016, the jihadist militia remained active in Iraq and various other countries.
In Amman, Lambrecht reportedly met the Jordanian King Abdullah II, Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi and Prime Minister and Defense Minister So far Al-Chasawneh. The conversation was about “the security situation in the region and German-Jordanian cooperation”.
The German government described Jordan as “an essential anchor of stability in the region”. In the conversation with Safadi, Lambrecht discussed “the challenges in the Middle East” and exchanged views with the minister about “how the already intensive cooperation between our countries can be further developed”.