UK Ministry of Defence,
Kenya and the UK have renewed a highly-valued agreement which allows British soldiers to conduct essential training in Kenyan Forces training areas, the Armed Forces Minister Adam Ingram announced today.
Mr Ingram was in Nairobi today to sign a Memorandum of Understanding with the Kenyan Minister of State for Defence, the Honourable Njenga Karume.
Yesterday, Mr Ingram visited troops from the 1st Battalion, the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders in the Samburu District, where they are taking part in infantry training.
Mr Ingram said: “Kenya offers superb training opportunities for the British Army and the training here is an important part of the preparation of our troops for the numerous operational commitments we have worldwide.
“It is also a good location for the education of our soldiers, many of them still young men and women. It gives them experience of Africa, they see the country and the way that the Kenyan people live and this helps to develop their understanding of different cultures. This is important for our Army in the world of today.
“Not only that, but British Army training in Kenya brings considerable benefits to local communities. Our soldiers give business to local enterprises. The Royal Engineers work on infrastructure projects; building a maternity ward, road bridges or new police outposts. And our medical troops training here contribute to the Kenya Extended Programme of Immunisation, the distribution of mosquito nets and the provision of health care in remote districts.
“I am therefore pleased that today we are signing the renewal of an agreement that essentially goes back 40 years and that ensures the continued military co-operation between our two countries.”
Background Notes and Information:
1. Adam Ingram visited the 1st Battalion Argyll & Sutherland Highlanders, based in Canterbury, conducting Exercise Grand Prix at Archer's Post. The regular British Army field training exercise allows infantry battalions to experience a wide variety of climatic conditions, from desert to rain forest. They also learn some Swahili to aid relations with the local population.
2. The previous Memorandum of Understanding between the UK and Kenya was due to expire on 31 March 2006.
3. The Memorandum of Understanding will also allow the UK to continue its commitment to collaborate with Kenya to enhance peacekeeping and peace support capabilities in East Africa and the World. Kenyan Armed Forces have contributed to peacekeeping operations in the Balkans, Sierra Leone, Burundi, Sudan and Eritrea. Prime Minister, Tony Blair, has pledged to help train 20,000 African Peacekeepers by 2010.
4. The UK has funded and staffed two centres of peacekeeping and de-mining excellence in Kenya. A British military team trains international armed forces in humanitarian de-mining at the International Mine Action Training Centre near Nairobi; and a British Peace Support Team assists in peacekeeper training at the Peace Support Training Centre in Karen. It also arranges for members of the Kenyan Armed Forces to attend specialist courses in the UK.
