Wednesday February 28, 2024
Addis Ababa (HOL) - Ethiopia and Uganda have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to strengthen their cooperation in military and defense matters amidst diplomatic developments in the East African region.
A Ugandan delegation, led by Ugandan Defense Minister Vincent Bamulangaki Ssempijja and the Chief of Defense Forces, General Wilson Mbasu Mbadi, arrived in Addis Ababa for an official visit this week. Minister Vincent Bamulangaki Ssempijja signed the MoU with his Ethiopian counterpart on Wednesday.
The agreement aims to enhance information exchange, build military capacity, and collaborate on regional security issues. Both parties expressed commitment to effectively implementing the MoU.
On February 20, Uganda's Minister of Defense, Vincent Bamulangaki Ssempijja, visited Mogadishu for a working visit. He signed a supplementary defense agreement with his Somali counterpart, Abdikadir Mohamed Nur, to strengthen defense cooperation following their initial MoU in 2022.
Uganda's MoU agreements on defence with Somalia and Ethiopia within less than two weeks come amid increasing tension between Somalia and Ethiopia, sparked by the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MOU) between Ethiopia and Somalia's breakaway Somaliland region.
Somalia firmly rejected the MOU, alleging that Ethiopia aims to annex parts of Somalia's territory. President Hassan Sheikh has voiced this concern at African Union meetings and other occasions.