The Minister of Defence and Veteran Affairs, Hon. Kiryowa Kiwanuka, has highlighted China’s longstanding support to Uganda’s defence sector, particularly in military training, technical cooperation and the development of the country’s military-industrial complex.
Hon. Kiryowa made the remarks during a meeting with the Chinese Ambassador to Uganda, His Excellency Wu Guangrong, who paid a courtesy call on him at the Ministry of Defence and Veteran Affairs headquarters in Mbuya, Kampala.
The Minister assured the Ambassador of Uganda’s commitment to strengthening the longstanding bilateral relationship between the two countries.
“You have our full assurance of our continued support and continued relationship. Your task of furthering and deepening the relationship between Uganda and China is therefore made easy,” Hon. Kiryowa said.
He pointed to the growing defence cooperation between Uganda and China through the National Enterprise Corporation (NEC), the commercial arm of the Uganda Peoples’ Defence Forces (UPDF), particularly in the development of Uganda’s military-industrial complex.
“We are going to emphasise a lot on the growth of our military-industrial complex. That military-industrial complex is under NEC, and we are doing a lot of things with you already. We intend to do a lot more with you,” he said.
Ambassador Wu said China and Uganda had maintained strong relations for more than six decades since the establishment of diplomatic ties, adding that the two countries had continued to support each other despite changes in the international environment.
He said China’s Ministry of National Defence and the Chinese People’s Liberation Army had maintained close and friendly exchanges with Uganda’s Ministry of Defence and Veteran Affairs and the UPDF.
“The two sides have carried out productive cooperation in areas of high-level exchanges, strategic dialogue, personnel training, equipment and technical cooperation,” H.E. Wu said.
The Ambassador commended the Government of Uganda and the UPDF for their contribution to national security, regional peace and stability.
He particularly recognised Uganda’s longstanding role in African peace and security affairs, including its contribution to peace support efforts in Somalia and engagement in addressing regional security challenges.
The meeting was attended by the Under Secretary for Finance and Administration, Mrs Edith Buturo; Chief of Joint Staff, Lt Gen Jack Bakasumba; and Managing Director of NEC, Lt Gen James Mugira and the China’s Military Attaché to Uganda Col Zhang Ho
