EDUCATE EAST AFRICAN ON BENEFITS OF INTEGRATION - ZANZIBAR 2ND VICE PRESIDENT

ARUSHA, Tanzania, September 20, 2011/African Press Organization (APO)/ -- 

The joint military exercise between officers from EAC Partner State Defense Forces and the United States Africa Command (USAFRICOM) today officially closed with a call by Zanzibar's Second Vice President His Excellency Ambassador Seif Idd to educate East Africans about the benefits of regional integration.

Officiating at the closing ceremony of Exercise Natural 11 at the Chukwani Military Centre in Zanzibar, H.E. Amb. Seif Idd said it was important that leaders in the region provide citizens with information to help them overcome their apprehension towards EAC integration.

“The realization that we are better off when integrated is not always obvious to our people and needs to be nurtured through demonstrating the actual benefits of our integration project,” the Vice President said.

He added: “The peasant, the businessperson, the student, the manufacturer… must be educated about the benefits of integration so that their fears are allayed.

“This is a job for all of us who have been put in leadership positions because leadership is about vision and direction”.

H.E. Seif idd reiterated the importance of regional collaboration on matters of defense, noting that “in a new uncertain world full of menace from hegemonic powers, danger from various asymmetrical threats and risks from both man-made and natural disasters, only a collective security build-up can create the necessary guarantees for our people”.

He reaffirmed that the joint military exercise was a demonstration that integration is “a critical necessity” because “today's security challenges transcend national borders”.

The EAC Deputy Secretary General (in charge of Planning and Infrastructure) Dr. Enos Bukuku said EAC viewed such exercises as “an opportunity to build bridges of trust, friendship and confidence among the Partner States”.

He proposed that in future collaboration between EAC Defense Forces should extend beyond military activities and tackle development concerns such as building of railways, classrooms and other infrastructure facilities in support of the region's economic development ambitions.

Tanzania's Minister for Defense and National Service Hon. Dr. Hussein Mwinyi on his part said Natural Fire 11 had exercised the region to respond quickly and efficiently to regional crises, while the USAFRICOM Commander General David Hogg said the exercise demonstrated the commitment of the Partner States to enhance security on a national and regional scale.

The exercise, whose theme was ensuring security and foster regional stability, aimed to develop the capacity of EAC Defense Forces to respond quickly and efficiently to complex security challenges, harmonize the working relationship among them and foster cooperation between these Forces and the United States of America.

Natural Fire 11 further served to enhance cooperation between the Defense Forces, civil authorities and international organizations, and to improve interoperability between the Forces. Over a four-day period more than 300 officers were exercised in peace support operations, humanitarian assistance, disaster response, counter terrorism and counter piracy.

Natural Fire 11 followed similar exercises held in the past in Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania (Mainland). These joint exercises were first held in 1998 as a bilateral exercise between the US and Kenya and reconfigured in 1999 as a multilateral exercise between Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania. Rwanda and Burundi were subsequently enrolled upon joining the East African Community in 2007.

Exercises such as Natural Fire 11 are part of EAC efforts to deepen cooperation in defense by the EAC Partner States, guided by the Memorandum of Understanding on Cooperation in Defense which lays down four areas of cooperation namely: military training; joint operations; technical assistance; and visits (including sporting exchanges and range competitions as well as visits by the Chiefs of Defense) and exchange of information. The MoU was signed in 1998 and revised in 2001.

SOURCE: http://www.starafrica.com