The Assistant Chief of Defence Forces in charge of Operations, Plans, Doctrine and Training (ACDF OPD&T), Major General Frederick Leuria, presided over the inaugural Kenya–Ethiopia Joint Defence Committee (JDC I) meeting held at Defence Headquarters in Nairobi.
The three-day meeting aimed at strengthening bilateral defence cooperation, enhancing regional security coordination, and advancing strategic military engagement between the two countries.
The meeting followed the signing of a Defence Cooperation Agreement last year, which established a structured framework for coordinating, managing, and deepening defence relations between Kenya and Ethiopia in pursuit of regional peace, stability, and collective security. The adoption of the Joint Defence Committee Terms of Reference marked a significant milestone, providing clear guidance for sustained and structured future engagements.
In his address during the closing session, Major General Leuria underscored the long-standing partnership between the two nations, founded on mutual respect, shared interests, and a common vision for regional prosperity. He emphasized the need for proactive and coordinated responses to evolving security challenges, including terrorism, transnational crime, cyber threats, and climate-induced conflicts, while reaffirming the collective responsibility to safeguard peace along the shared border and across the Horn of Africa.
Major General Leuria further stressed the importance of timely and actionable intelligence sharing as a cornerstone of effective defence cooperation, noting that enhanced coordination would strengthen joint efforts to counter threats such as terrorism, arms trafficking, contraband trade, and human smuggling that exploit porous borders. He also highlighted joint military training and defence industry cooperation as critical enablers of interoperability, professionalism, innovation, self-reliance, and optimal utilization of limited resources in pursuit of long-term strategic objectives.
On his part, the Head of the Ethiopian Delegation and Director General of Foreign Relations and Military Cooperation, Major General Teshome Gemechu, reaffirmed the enduring military ties between the two countries and Ethiopia’s commitment to a joint security approach. He emphasized the importance of cohesion, intelligence sharing, and operational collaboration in maintaining peace along the shared border, particularly in countering threats posed by terrorist networks. He also acknowledged the Kenya Defence Forces’ leading role in regional counter-terrorism efforts.
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