Kigali, 05 September 2024

Senior security officials from the Northern Corridor Integration Projects (NCIP) member States (Kenya, Rwanda and Uganda) convened in Kigali for a Defence Cluster meeting aimed at assessing achievements and reviewing joint projects in the field of defence among member states.  

A two-day meeting will also review the status of Defence Cooperation in line with the tripartite mutual Defence Pact that has already been signed. The pact covers areas of cooperation in conflict prevention, management, and resolution, prevention of genocide, combating terrorism, combating and suppressing piracy, peace support operations, disaster risk reduction and management, crisis response, control of proliferation of illicit small arms and light weapons, combating transnational and cross-border crimes, collecting and sharing intelligence on emerging and existing threats.  

On behalf of the Minister of Defence, Brig Gen Celestin KANYAMAHANGA, Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Defence, underscored the importance of the meeting as it reflects on the challenges and successes encountered during the implementation of previous decisions. He further urged the participants to actively engage in discussions that leverage expertise in addressing challenges and enhancing a collective approach for the benefit of member states. 

The Northern Corridor Integration Projects participants reiterated the necessity to continue cooperation in defence matters, mainly in military training, joint military exercises and operations, intelligence sharing, research and development in defence-related industries.