EU military mission to Mozambique to be approved next month

FILE PHOTO: Portugal's Foreign Minister Augusto Santos Silva speaks during a news conference following a European Union Foreign Trade ministers meeting at the European Council headquarters in Brussels, Belgium May 20, 2021. Francisco Seco/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo

LISBON (Reuters) - A European Union military mission to support and train up Mozambican troops to tackle an escalating insurgency linked to Islamic State could be approved next month, Portugal's foreign minister said on Wednesday.

Augusto Santos Silva told lawmakers at a parliamentary committee in Lisbon that he hoped the mission would be given the green light during the next meeting of EU foreign ministers scheduled for July 12.