Kenya and the United Kingdom (UK) on Tuesday penned a new five-year Defence Cooperation Agreement (DCA) seeking to deal with their shared threats across the East African region.

Kenya and UK signed the pact in the evening at the sidelines of President Uhuru Kenyatta’s three-day trip to the UK as the Guest of Government.

Defence Cabinet Secretary Dr Monica Juma and her UK counterpart Ben Wallace put pen to paper on the new DCA at the Ministry of Defence offices in London.

The significant treaty is expected to tighten the two countries’ defence priorities and are expected to be ratified by their respective Parliaments.

PHOTO/COURTESY

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This comes six months after Dr Juma and Wallace met in Nairobi and agreed to refresh the Security Compact to foster cooperation in stability and security as strategic partners.

Once ratified, the new DCA will allow Kenyan and UK armies to exchange their expertise, experience and techniques to enhance their effectiveness in combating arising threats.

“Kenya has long been our defence partner of choice in East Africa and, in a more uncertain world, we will continue to stand shoulder-to-shoulder as we tackle the threats of tomorrow,” said Wallace.

Ben Wallace and Monica Juma. PHOTO/COURTESY

Dr Juma said, “The framework underpinning this strategic relationship is the Defence Cooperation Agreement, which has become an invaluable tool for enhancing the competencies of our defence forces.

She added, “Overall our cooperation continues to significantly improve the ability of our forces to operate effectively in high-threat environments.”