Egypt Opens Defense Office İn Uganda

The Egyptian government on Wednesday officially opened a defense office in Uganda with the stated aim of enhancing military relations and cooperation with the East Africa country.



"The inauguration of the defense office in Kampala is another step to practically strengthen bilateral relations between our countries," Egyptian Ambassador to Uganda Ahmed Abdel-Aziz said at a ceremony attended by military officials and diplomats from the U.S., U.K., Belgium, South Africa and Ethiopia, among others.



"This occasion reflects the cordial and warm relations existing between Uganda and Egypt," he said.



Abdel-Aziz emphasized the need to "enhance relations to a level that should really reflect and reply to the aspirations of our two peoples."



He added that Egypt was keen to establish a defense office in Kampala, despite the domestic challenges it had faced since the country's 2011 popular uprising.



The ambassador said that the move was aimed not only at consolidating bilateral military ties, "but also to contribute in establishing more peace and security in the area and Africa."



Brig. Charles Bakahumura, chief of Ugandan military intelligence, noted that the Egypt-Uganda relationship dated back to the Ottoman era.



"We hope that this relation will enhance cooperation in the areas of combating terrorism," he told the ceremony.



Bakahumura also congratulated Egypt on the recent reactivation of its African Union (A.U.) membership.



"It's a right of Egypt to return to the A.U.," he said.



Egypt was readmitted to the pan-African body in June after a one-year suspension prompted by the ouster of Mohamed Morsi – Egypt's first freely-elected leader – by the army.



-Enhanced cooperation-



Col. Ahmed Fahmy, the Egyptian military attaché, told the gathering that the new defense office "will simultaneously enhance military cooperation between the two countries."



He added that considerable progress had been made in terms of improving bilateral military cooperation.



"This has been more evident in many different aspects: training, industries and official visits," said Fahmy.



Egyptian Maj. Gen. Gamal Hemdan, who is currently leading a team of six Egyptian army generals on a visit to Uganda, said the office "will increase confidence and achieve the aspirations of our people for security, stability and development."



He noted that certain international and regional issues imposed enormous challenges that needed to be confronted.



"These changes open promising opportunities that we should make use of; with no doubt, we are capable of handling this if we handle these challenges and take these opportunities in the framework of joint interests," said Hemdan.



On Monday, the Egyptian army delegation met officials from the Uganda People's Defense Forces (UPDF), led by Land Forces Commander Maj. Gen. David Muhoozi.



The two sides discussed cooperation in the fields of training in different military specialties; health; research; intelligence and information sharing; industrial production; agriculture; and culture and sports, according to a UPDF statement.



"We can provide the UPDF expertise for agricultural production," said Gen. Hemdan, the statement added.



"If land, water and a power sources are availed, together we can produce food to feed UPDF troops," he added.



The two sides also discussed regional security challenges, the threat of terrorism and the situation in Somalia.



By Halima Athumani



englishnews@aa.com.tr



www.aa.com.tr/en - Kampala