Uganda’s Minister of Defence and Veteran Affairs Adolf Mwesige on Wednesday met with the ambassador of Israel in Uganda Obed Joseph to deepen existing defence cooperation between the two countries, officials said in a statement.
During the meeting, which was held at the Defence Ministry headquarters in Mbuya, Kampala, Minister Mwesige said that strengthening defence cooperation on top of existing ties will facilitate the continuity of the much-needed prosperity.
“Focusing mainly on defence cooperation, not in words, but in practice between the two countries increases performance in many socio-economic sectors,” he said.
Ambassador Obed Joseph commended the Uganda People’s Defence Force (UPDF) for its commitment to peace and stability both in Uganda and in the region.
The ambassador challenged the defence ministry to concretize its Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Israel on shared security challenges to pave way for addressing them.
“A steering committee on defence dialogue to outweigh challenges in a specific area is important,” he elaborated, proposing that Uganda hosts a regional seminar between military colleges in East Africa to identify more opportunities and threats to regional stability.
The Chief of Defence Forces Gen. David Muhoozi alluded to the fact that completing negotiations that will pen-down the MoU on Defence Cooperation between the two countries will enhance UPDFs defence capabilities.
The meeting was also attended by the Ministry of Defence and Veteran Affairs (MODVA) Under Secretary in charge of Finance and Administration Edith Buturo, who represented the Permanent Secretary; UPDF Chief of Personnel and Administration Maj Gen George Igumba, who represented the UPDF Joint Chief of Staff and the Honorary Consul State of Israel Ishta K. Muganga.
Uganda has been cooperating with Israel on different fronts since the latter, in the 1950s and 1960s, opened its doors to Africa to help newly independent states by sharing knowledge with them.
President Museveni has been to Israel twice since he came to power and in February of 2020, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visited Uganda.
In June, Ishta Asiimwe Kutesa Muganga was named the Honorary Consul of Israel to Uganda. Nenyatahu has also urged President Museveni to open an embassy in Jerusalem.