The Chief of Defence Forces (CDF), Gen David Muhoozi has urged the armed forces within the East African Community to work as a bloc in eliminating security threats so as to foster peace.
Gen Muhoozi noted that the armed forces within the EAC member countries share similar ideology which is hinged on defending their peoples.
The CDF was speaking today during a meeting held at UPDF Mbuya headquarters where Senior Command and Staff college students of the Burundi National Defence Forces are on a study tour in Uganda.
“East Africa Community is a region with immense potential and as Defence Forces, we need to position ourselves to overcome the challenges and threats that are common,” Gen Muhoozi told the participants.
He reminded the officers that peace and stability is a good that the armed forces are mandated to deliver to the people, and “the sole reason we should be focused on and ready to defend at all times as we integrate”.
Gen Muhoozi shared copies of the book “The Black Hawks Rising” by Dr Opio Oloya with the delegation. It is a story about the AMISOM success in Somalia to which both countries are part of.
On his part, the Commandant of the College Col Justus Ciiza thanked the UPDF for the warm welcome they received and pledged to continue with the partnership between the two partner Armed Forces.
The Chief of Training and Recruitment Brig Wills Byarugaba applauded the bilateral relationship between the two countries. It is for this Pan Africanist spirit that the Burundian Army became the second to join forces with Uganda in the mission to stabilize Somalia in 2007. He thanked the college for choosing Uganda for this historical visit.
The Chief Political Commissar Brig Henry Masiko made a presentation on the Geo-political situation in the Great Lakes Region; emphasizing the oneness of the people and a shared destiny.
In attendances were Brig G Igumba the Chief of Personnel and Administration, Brig Abel Kandiho the CMI, among others.
The Burundi National Defence Forces delegation will during their stay visit other important places that include; the Air Force Headquarters, the Joint Clinical Research Centre, Quality Chemicals Industries – Luzira, UPDF Land Force Headquarters in Bombo, among others.