The UK and Kenya inked a new defense cooperation agreement that will see the two countries tackle and combat shared threat from the Al-Qaeda associated Al-Shabaab.
UK’s Defense Secretary Ben Wallace and Kenyan Cabinet Secretary for Defense Dr Monica Juma signed the deal after agreeing to step up UK support for the key security partner
The UK is stepping up its counter-terrorism and military support to the East Africa country, Kenya as the two countries inked a new five-year Defense Cooperation Agreement (DCA).
In the new agreement, the two countries will enhance coordination in their joint efforts that will be aimed at bolstering the regional security in East Africa, including the fight against Islamist terrorist group Al-Shabaab.
The UK and Kenya already work regularly in countering the shared threat posed by Al-Shabaab. UK and Kenya are engaged in training besides sharing of intelligence as ways strengthening defense cooperation. The new agreement expected to build on the existing agreement.
The new DCA will provide a platform for the exchange of military personnel for defense activity, allowing for enhanced training opportunities and increased collaboration in peace support work in East Africa and beyond.
Kenya has long been UK’s defense partner of choice in East Africa maintaining a training base in Kenya’s Nanyuki prefecture.
The two defense secretaries discussed a range of additional enhanced UK counter-terrorism support to Kenya, including increasing protection for tourists on the coast, where many of the 180,000 British tourists who visit Kenya every year travel to.
They also discussed expanding UK programmes to prevent extremism in coastal and other key areas – including the appointment of a dedicated Maritime Security officer – providing technical support to Kenya’s first terrorism court, enhancing collaboration to counter terrorist financing and increasing training for Kenyan forces to tackle Al Shabaab in the country’s north-east prefecture.
Under the new DCA, British troops expected to help train over 1,100 Kenyan soldiers every year before they are deployed to the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) to fight Al-Shabaab.
The British Army and Kenya Defense Force (KDF) conduct around five joint training exercises every year, involving around 750 Kenyan and 5,000 British troops.
