Malawi, US sign military accord
Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation George Chaponda and United States (US) Ambassador to Malawi Virginia Palmer yesterday signed a military cooperation agreement between the US and Malawi.
The agreement is consistent with a long-standing bilateral agreement on US assistance to Malawi and the new agreement provides the framework for continued military cooperation, assistance and training collaboration between the two countries.
“Malawi has a strong record of military discipline, peaceful coexistence, military defence of the Constitution, and leadership in supporting regional peace and stability,” Palmer said.
“I am pleased to put in place a framework agreement to facilitate future collaboration and training opportunities to sustain and further expand Malawi’s ability to both protect its people while contributing to a strong, peaceful and prosperous region,” she added.
In recent years, the US has supported the Malawi Defence Force (MDF) by helping to train and equip eight battalions of Malawian peacekeepers, supported the establishment of the first-ever senior non-commissioned officers’ course at the Malawi Armed Forces College (Mafco).
US also sponsored large peacekeeping exercises with militaries from the region hosted in Malawi, and provided dozens of other training opportunities for MDF leaders, officers, and soldiers.
The agreement has been under discussion since 2013 provides a framework that will enable such mutually agreed upon military activities to continue as a critical component of the broad US-Malawi partnership.
