Kenya, Jordan in joint military training

Kenya, Jordan in joint military training

President Uhuru Kenyatta, together with His Majesty King Abdullah II of Jordan Monday, September 26 witnessed closing of a joint military exercise conducted by the Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) and the Royal Jordanian Armed Forces at the Embakasi Garrison dubbed ‘Swift Eagle’.

The exercise saw over 300 KDF officers trained in company attack tactics, aircraft hijack rescue, attack on rebel and recruitment camps and hostage rescue for eight weeks in an effort to combat terrorism.

Speaking during the event, President Kenyatta commended the Jordan army for training KDF pilots and equipping the air force.

“We appreciate what the Jordan army has done for KDF in training and equipping our air force. 60 pilots have already been trained and 38 more will be trained in the next phase,” he said.

The head of state noted that through the training the forces are ready to tackle conventional and asymmetric threats.

“Shared threats call upon shared responses,” he said.

President Kenyatta stated that the memorandum of understanding for defense cooperation was signed in December 2015 with the key issues being counter terrorism, world peace and humanitarian assistance.

On his part, King Abdullah II said that this was a new chapter in the relations between Kenya and Jordan and reiterated the need for a concerted approach in combating terrorism.

General Samson Mwathethe, who was also in attendance, echoed the King’s sentiments, noting that both countries face common threats.

Defence CS Raychelle Omamo noted that the officers have achieved all facets of the training.

Swift Eagle is an eight-week military exercise that focuses on sharing of knowledge and skills in combating emerging complex security challenges.

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