Uganda, Tanzania commit to continuous defence collaborations

The governments of Uganda and Tanzania have committed to continuous collaboration for the realisation of their mutual defence interests.

This was agreed on Thursday during the meeting between State Minister for Defence and Veteran Affairs in charge of General Duties Hon. Jacob Oboth-Oboth and Tanzania’s Minister of Defense and National Service Hon. Dr. Stergomena, at the Ministry of Defence headquarters, Mbuya.

In the meeting, Oboth congratulated Dr. Stergomena on her appointment as the first female Defence Minister Tanzania and the first female Defence Minister of Tanzania to visit Uganda, noting that the visit marked a historical moment.

Both ministers appreciated the long history between the two sister countries that dates back to 1979 and noted that the two countries will continue to strengthen their defence relations.

"We have had and enjoyed a cordial relationship for many years and it's our prayer that we continue that way," Oboth remarked.

In her remarks, Dr. Stergomena mentioned that whatever Tanzania has achieved is a result of it's good relations with Uganda.

" Whatever we have achieved, we have achieved it together," she said.

The UPDF Joint Chief of Staff Maj Gen Leopold Kyanda, on behalf of the Chief of Defence Forces Gen Wilson Mbadi, expressed UPDF's gratitude to the Tanzanian government for all the sacrifice, military training and assistance that Tanzania has accorded to the Ugandan defence forces since 1979.

He pointed out that before 1979, the Uganda army parade was based more on British standards but later got influenced by Tanzanian army instructors who conducted most of the trainings for the Ugandan army.

He further observed that Ugandans knowledge of Swahili has been improved by the peoples' relationship with Tanzanians since 1979.

"We look forward to stronger relationships between our sister countries," Maj Gen Kyanda noted.

Following the meeting, souvenirs were exchanged to mark the occasion.

The meeting was attended by the State Minister of Defence in charge of Veteran Affairs Huda Oleru, MoDVA Under Secretary in charge of Finance and Administration, Mrs. Edith Buturo, MoDVA Under Secretary in charge of Air Forces Mr. James Mutabazi and and Col Hamza Naulid Burah, the Defence Advisor at the Tanzanian High commission in Uganda, among others.