The Minister of State for the Armed Forces, Nick Harvey MP, welcomed the Tongan Prime Minister, Lord Tu'ivakano to the Ministry of Defence Photo: MoD.
The Minister of State for the Armed Forces, Nick Harvey MP, last week welcomed the Tongan Prime Minister, Lord Tu’ivakano and Commander of Tonga Defence Services, Brigadier ‘UTA’ATU to the Ministry of Defence London with a ceremonial guard from the Household Cavalry Mounted Regiment.
According to a source at the MoD last week’s visit was the first by the Tongan Prime Minister and was part of a 3-day programme which included a visit to the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst as well as meetings at the MoD.
During the visit a range of topics were discussed including Tongan support in Afghanistan and training opportunities for the Tongan Defence Force. The MOD has plans to arrange for trainers from Royal Military Academy Sandhurst to travel to Tonga to conduct separate leadership and physical training courses. The Tongan Defence Force currently has an Officer Cadet at Britannia Royal Naval College Dartmouth.
The Minister of State for the Armed Forces, Nick Harvey MP said: “I would like to express my gratitude to the Tongan Government for allowing the deployment of 55 Tongan troops serving alongside UK Armed Forces in Afghanistan. Their deployment has been nothing but positive. They have provided great utility and are conducting a variety of Force Protection tasks in partnership with British Forces, significantly mitigating threats to the internal security at Camp Bastion.”
The UK welcomes the opportunity to discuss the potential for extending the current Tongan deployment in Afghanistan as well as training opportunities in the future, Minister Harvey said.