Rwanda, Mali to foster military cooperation

KIGALI, Rwanda

Major General Oumar Diarra, the Chief of Defense Staff of Mali, is in Rwanda for a three-day official visit to acquire expertise in the reconstruction of a country and capacity building of security forces.

Major General Oumar Diarra, Chief of Defense staff of Mali arrives at RDF Headquarters.

He, along with his delegation, was received by his Rwandan counterpart General Jean Bosco Kazura and the Minister of Defence, Major General Albert Murasira on Tuesday at the Rwanda Defence Force (RDF) headquarters in Kimihurura.

Speaking to the media, Diarra said they are here to draw from the “unique Rwandan experience and the stability in the country as well as the capacity of Rwandan Army to conjoin, for example, the case in Mozambique.

He said that it is the same trajectory for Mali of reinforcing the capacity in terms of operating autonomously and defending the territory, protecting the population and their properties.

“I was very impressed by the openness of the General and staff to provide us with whatever we want in order to build the Malian army capacity,” he said of the discussions he had with both Rwandan army officials.

He cited key areas of cooperation such as human resources, training, and military welfare, among others.

Diarra said that going forward, they will engage in cementing the military cooperation between both countries by signing a Memorandum of Understanding and the only remaining thing is to convince the political authorities to promote this cooperation.

He noted that military cooperation between African countries is really important to address the issue of terrorism on the continent which requires capacity building.